Red Riot

by Viva01

The Elemental Nations are a world rife with oppurtunity. For the lucky few that are born well, you can be a legend easily. For some, you're just lucky to be born at all, which is debateable with how Matsu found himself in Kirigakure. He's going to have to rely on his knowledge of the plot. A Self Insert into Kirigakure during the Second Shinobi War. Slow updates.

2. Chapter 2 - The Red Academy

The Academy.

It loomed over the surrounding buildings and my future.

It was not the tallest building that I had encountered in Kirigakure. That honour went to the water tower but when I mentioned it to my minders during my sporadic walks around Kiri I was informed that the tallest building in Kiri is, in fact, the Mizukage's tower.

Perhaps if I survived, the tower would become the building that loomed large in my mind but for now, there was the ominous threat of a building that stood three stories tall while sprawling outwards. Its dull concrete construction expands out wide with wings that look like a great giant reaching wide to ensnare all that comes within its reach.

Its main doors were huge dark things that only made you think of walking down a giant's maw.

In front of the doors, a number of children my age huddled near their parents or minders. The parents looked equally as uneasy but there were none to comfort them so instead they huddled together. They must have thought there was safety in numbers, like a school of fish. They looked around into the mist and saw figures darting in and out of the light and they must conjure up demons with how they quaver.

My own minder looked like she wanted to join the crowd but something about this strikes me as wrong. When my minder tugged me I instead held my ground and searched with my eyes the surrounding rooftops and windows. From within and above shadows looked back as though watching. Cruel smiles stretched their faces like spirits that were just waiting for me to enter so they might tear me apart in their domain.

This … it struck me as odd.

Most of the time the shinobi in the streets that we encountered merely had an indifference to the civilians. They rarely went out of their way to be actually cruel beyond small injustices. They didn't terrorize until they had to.

I tilted my head. I was thinking like a civilian. What would a shinobi be doing right now? I blinked as I felt the fear of entering the doors almost make me miss the appearance of a shinobi carrying another through an opened window.

They hadn't been carrying a package but rather a child. A child with that same cold indifference as they looked down. For half a second I had seen them watching the people in the courtyard before a shadow had crept over their faces.

I felt out my chakra and grimaced as I detected another's chakra mixed in.

I hadn't even… I sighed and flexed my chakra in a different direction before allowing it to return to its normal flow. Instantly the ominous portents of the building vanished. It became merely a building that even had different markings and colourations. The faces peering out at the group from the windows and the rooftops vanished. In their place, only three shinobi remained. Each with clipboards and annoyed expressions as they stared at the flinching civilians.

One of them stopped when they noticed I was watching them. I got a small smile and a nod before they formed a handseal. Instantly the feeling returned of being afraid of the entrance of the academy with it— I flexed my chakra and held back on actually expressing the glare I wanted to give that shinobi.

What on earth were they doing?

The shinobi grinned at me before gesturing towards the doorway in a shooing motion as they allowed me a small nod. I blinked. Oh. Of course. This was a shinobi academy. Deception and misdirection were going to be a fundamental part of their toolkit. Another shinobi appeared above in the windows to drop off another child my age. I watched them nod at the shinobi on the roof with their clipboards as they pushed their child into the room.

On their back a symbol that I had come to learn meant 'Terumi' rested proudly.

Ah, now it made sense.

The Clans would know about this test and bull their way into dropping off their children. It was a huge advantage to be born well after all. In moments like this the differences stood out. The clan children were ferried into the academy while the civilians faced a test for their worth that so few would have any context to understand or expect.

I was an outlier.

And I wasn't sure I wanted to be seen that way. Being a tall poppy could result in a lot more attention being sent my way. I chewed my lip as I considered my options. Perhaps I could soften the expectations by being smart but not too smart?

I delayed in the gateway, not approaching the group of civilians but not moving into the academy either.

"Miss, you should go home," I said quietly to my escort.

"Eh? Matsu I… well, I suppose I have seen you here… I will come back?"

I shook my head. I watched as another child was directly dropped into the classroom. Then a child not much older then I was jumped in without any chaperone. "No. I think I need to come back here by myself in future… I don't think anyone in the Okiya should come… It's like the kunoichi said. This…" I gestured at the academy, "this is something I need to face myself."

"Very well Matsu," she said before handing over the wrapped-up lunch pack for me.

I bowed my head and stepped out of the way of the gateway. I watched her leave, her form fading in the mist rapidly. I licked my lips and found them dry. A strange feeling with how wet the… I pulsed my chakra and felt for a moment my view of the surrounding area waver.

I blinked in surprise before turning my attention towards my chakra pool while outwardly watching with a pointed frown as another student was dropped off.

A clipboard ninja watched me with narrowed eyes.

I pretended not to notice them and instead probed at my own chakra.

Something was wrong. Something was causing the mist. Or was it the perception of mist? I flickered my chakra and frowned as the mist shimmered. It was there but it wasn't nearly as bad. Or was that a sign that I didn't have anywhere near the chakra control I thought I did?

I couldn't even detect the chakra influencing my own. But it had to be there and now that I knew to check perhaps I could unravel it?

Something that did stand out to me now was that I had no idea for how long this genjutsu had been affecting me. Had it been when I entered the shinobi district? Or was this something that was always there at some level? The mist was seen as a natural occurrence within Kirigakure but was that actually the case?

The Hidden Mist shinobi were known for their hiding in the mist jutsu. Something that required a great familiarity with moving through the mist. Perhaps the mist was not something that was always natural?

A sudden looming need to throw myself to the side overwhelmed me. I hurled myself into the dirt. My sudden movement caused the civilians to shriek and whirl around only to heave in some air.

"Stupid boy! Watch where you walk!" one scolded as if they hadn't just screamed.

I grunted and stood only to feel my limbs quivering. I stared at them in shock. What the hell? I licked my lips before glancing up to find a very unamused clipboard ninja staring at me with narrowed eyes. They pointed straight at the doorway and I got their message.

Go. Now.

I swallowed and moved past the civilians quickly. The woman who had scolded me via genjutsu scoffed.

"Uh! The saying is true. The savage boar will charge into thorns where a deer knows to avoid them!" said a civilian.

I glanced back at them but continued onwards. I stared at the children watching me anxiously. One small dark-haired girl gestured for me to join them. I shook my head, moving further into the academy and away from them.

Behind the group, the kunai that was now embedded in the wall glinted ominously. That too had been a warning for me. I had wanted to dull how sharp I seemed but it seemed that would potentially put me at risk.

I'd straddled a line and been noticed straddling said line.

I continued to walk and wondered just how close I had come to being too clever for my own good. I wiped at my cheek and neck, checking for any blood but there wasn't been any. Had I dodged quickly enough or had they not been aiming to wound me? I flexed my chakra again quickly as I walked, my eyes flicking around each small shadow and corner just in case anything changed with the seemingly empty halls.

I clenched my fists and willed the trembling out of my limbs.

Had that been killing intent or had I just registered that I might have died just now?

I really wasn't enjoying my first day at Shinobi Academy.

I snorted. First day? I wasn't even through the first hour!

I found my way to the second storey where I had seen the other children my age being dropped.

The door was s simple wooden doorway in the Japanese style. It slid to the side and made a harsh scraping noise that spoke of poor maintenance that would have the Madam of the Okiya shrieking about laziness.

I stepped into the room to the assessing gaze of many young eyes and one single older shinobi.

"Hoh? A civie? Now, this is rare." He tilted his head and his headband glinted in the light. "Find a seat brat. You might get to skip what's coming to the rest of your kind but that's no reason to be impressed with yourself."

The man was built like a square slab but none of it appeared to be fat. He had dark hair and eyes that assessed me. It felt like he was evaluating me even as I stood watching him.

I bobbed a hesitant bow at him and scurried to find a seat. I chose a spot right next to the window in the middle of the row. A number of people huffed at my choice and turned away, dismissing me.

Tactically this was perhaps the worst spot to sit.

If you wanted to be able to watch your surroundings. However, the corners at the back were already claimed by Hozuki and Terumi children. The divide in the middle was blatantly obvious to anyone with eyes.

Approaching one side would result in potentially rejecting the other. I could see battle lines were already being drawn. Even to the civilians, it was known that the Terumi wanted to be the top clan. The Hozuki, as the current strongest clan with the most members in the Seven Swordsmen and the reigning Mizukage were technically stronger.

The few Yuki members had taken up near the far wall with their seats turned inwards. But I noted that they were in a spot that put themselves as subservient to the Hozuki. The same was true for the Karatachi clansmen setting themselves beneath the Terumi. It also placed them directly behind my own chosen seat. Thankfully there was still enough space to make it clear I wasn't with them.

I made a show of glancing around and twitching occasionally. My acting lessons were already paying dividends. I didn't let my eyes slide about assessingly but rather in short bursts that juked around the room in a seemingly random pattern that spoke of wariness. I watched as the room slowly filled up bar the spot right at the front and the spots in the middle.

The spot right in the front potentially would have me under the gaze of the shinobi instructor and would also inspire me to learn my session better. An old lesson I had employed on myself for my maths classes in highschool.

However, there was no guarantee of his protection in this position. Perhaps he might stop anything happening to me due to the risk of it disrupting the rest of the class but it would depend on so many factors that I had no understanding of.

The spots in the middle, however…

I knew what that area would represent. Somehow I knew before I had even opened the door. Seeing the way the clans had set themselves up at the back and around the edges with the middle left open?

Sitting there would see you right in the middle of all the clans' children and the few shinobi-born children.

I knew what that area was.

A bell rang as a shinobi child was dropped off. The parent and child that were in the window stiffened glancing up to the instructor. The man snorted and pointed at a chair. "Bells not stopped yet."

The child threw themselves into a chair in front of me. I watched the shinobi nod in thanks before vanishing. When the bell finished ringing the centre of the room still sat gapingly open.

The instructor ignored it not calling on anyone to fill in as would occur in another world during a lecture.

"Congratulations for not being the sorriest sacks of shit I've ever seen! You made it to class and haven't had to be charged with dereliction of duty." He swept his eyes around the room. "If you are given an order to appear at a lecture, a mission or even a review from a superior officer you will be there on time if not early."

He turned a thumb towards himself. "I am your superior. I am a shinobi of Kirigakure. You punks might have mummy and daddy holding your hands when you're not in my class but by all the spirits when you are mine you will follow my orders. Don't and I will break you."

He glowered at us all. "I am chunin Genji Tenpora! You will refer to me as Instructor Tenpora!" He quickly wrote this out in the basic kanji used by commoners.

I mentally relaxed. Thank goodness, they weren't going to use the courtly script that the Madam had taught me. That script was hellishly complex and had multiple means that depended on a myriad of situations.

"The Academy's purpose is not to hold your hand but to forge you into an acceptable Genin that will secure the future of Kirigakure! You will learn the lessons I and other instructors teach by etching these lessons into your very bones if necessary! We will cover all the core fundamentals and you will be tested along the way! Fail… and you will not like the consequences."

He leaned forward and the desk cracked as he exerted some force. I felt his chakra sweep through the room, pinning everyone. "Is that understood?"

The clan children nodded without care. The genjutsu apparently not affecting them.

Around me, other children, the shinobi born, sat bolt upright. "Sir! Yes sir!" they chorused. I was among them.

He grunted. "Pathetic," he said derisively. He nodded at the clan children. "Good to see your parents and elders haven't let their standards slip with the war occurring!" He looked at me and the other children. "Your chakra is your most important tool! Learn to control it better!" He stood and pounded a fist on the blackboard.

"Today's lessons and indeed the rest of the week's will be an introduction to how the academy will be teaching you to contribute to Kirigakure in future either as bodies in the way of kunai…"

He swept his eyes over the few of us who had not been able to ignore his genjutsu. "Or as actual shinobi of any worth." He let his eyes flicker to the clan kids.

"So! First lesson! For shinobi, our greatest tool that makes us better than any mere warrior who curls a fist or trains with a weapon is our ability to use chakra! Chakra is the basis of everything we do! The most important thing you can learn to develop is your chakra! It will determine your strengths and weaknesses. What Jutsu you can use in future, how much you can use and how you fight! Developing your chakra will be something taught throughout your time here."

He formed a hand seal. "The best way to channel your chakra is to begin looking within while forming a completed circuit with your most commonly used pathways. This means the hands." on his left hand the index and middle finger pointed up while the other two curled over the top of a mirroring right hand. From what notes I had been able to accrue from both my memories and the ladies of the Okiya I knew this to be the Ram seal.

There were twelve 'commonly' used hand seals that matched up with the Chinese zodiac.

Irregular hand seals such as Naruto's shadow clone and one-handed hand seals were not something I had yet discovered.

"This is the ram seal! The best for gathering up your chakra and making it flow freely! This will make you light up like a firework to any sensors so if you have to perform this prior to creating any jutsu you are giving away your position and you are also wasting time. Part of practising jutsu is making sure you have the pathways well trained such that you can rapidly flow through the hand seals required to make it work. He worked through another two hand seals slowly.

Ram flowed into snake and finally into tiger. And with small spikes of chakra that I could just detect, another Instructor Tenpora appeared next to him.

Both glowered at us. He swept his hand out and a kunai buried itself into a student's desk. "You! Which one is the real Instructor!" I felt another chakra pulse. I held myself back from leaning forward. Somehow Tenpora was projecting another jutsu to push sound from two different positions. A throw-your-voice jutsu? That would be useful.

"U-uh?! The one on the left!" shouted the child.

I watched as the man clicked his tongue. His chakra shifted and he threw another kunai. This time it was aimed at the desk of a clan child. The kunai was snatched from the air and twirled about idly.

"The one on the left," said the Hozuki clan member with a bored drawl. They lobbed back the kunai and it was snatched up by the left-most Instructor Tenpora.

Tenpora nodded. "Correct!" his illusionary clone puffed away in a small cloud of smoke.

"But that's what I said?" said the first child.

Tenpora snorted, "And you were wrong!"

From the back, the clan kids chuckled and the shinobi born bristled at the seeming unfairness.

If I hadn't been able to sense his chakra fluctuating between questioning kids, I might have also fallen for the trick. He'd swapped places between asking each child. It appeared he was being heavy-handed in favour of the clan kids, and in a way he was, but at the same time he wasn't making it easy by simply allowing someone to reason it out.

It was the cup game but it was taken to another level.

A shuffling of feet in the hallway saw Tenpora stopping in his lecture. The door received a knock that echoed into the suddenly still room.

Everyone was watching the door. Tenpora sniffed. "Enter!"

The door slid open to reveal a kunoichi and a shinobi. Both I had seen waiting atop the academy when I had entered. Watching the entrants and their parents.

They both nodded at Tenpora. "Got some latecomers. We had to discipline them for being late to class. Their caregivers have likewise been fined and know not to let it happen again lest we have to discipline them once again."

Tenpora nodded his head and grunted. "Hnn, right then let's see the maggots that dared to not turn up to class on the first day!"

In toddled the civilian-born children. Each and every one of them sported black eyes and split lips. They walked in with hunched positions as they curled around sore limbs or torso. They glanced at the man and woman that had accompanied them like monsters that would leap out at them without a moment's notice.

I supposed that is how you would look at the people that had just disciplined you.

It would have been a very rude shock going from a civilian lifestyle to the rigours of the shinobi lifestyle. My stomach squirmed. This… was the darker side of being born into the Naruto world. It was not kindness and sunshine. This was a world that had been medieval in mindset. Here you needed to be strong. It made me sick.

I could already see how things were going to play out with this introduction into the academy system. These children would not dedicate themselves as they should to learning. A handful of lessons had already occurred if you were present and aware but they did not know to look. They'd curl up.

They'd serve as wonderful measuring tools and standards to avoid for the shinobi or clan children. Or the outliers like myself.

They were like little minnows swimming in a river with piranha.

Instructor Tenpora remonstrated the children. I watched, listening with half an ear as he told them that they were conscripted now. To try and leave the academy was to desert. The lowest form of scum. If they fled they would be put down faster than rats in the street.

I watched them, thoughts turning over in my head at their sorry state.

The girl who had tried to be kind was there. There was blood in her hair and her lips were swollen and puffy from where she must have been punched.

Another boy looked incensed. You could tell there was still fight in him and the way he glowered at the room at large spoke volumes. He wasn't going to back down.

That made him another outlier. One that stood out as he glared at the other children already in the room. I received just as much hatred as he must have assigned me the role of shinobi-born.

A boy nudged others and tried to help them stand. In a nicer world, he'd rally the other children if he was allowed to.

You could see that they were starting behind so many others though. The odds were not in their favour.

"Take your seats!" commanded Instructor Tenpora. No one said anything.

We all just watched as they walked into the middle of the classroom. They filled the large void of empty seats in the middle of the room. I'd watched a movie that mentioned being surrounded by enemies. They'd made a joke of it at the time. Positioning in fights could determine a lot. Of course in the movies, the good guys prevailed despite the odds.

I had no such idea of ignoring advantages. It's why I hadn't sat in the middle of the room.

In what would surely be, the killing field if we were asked to fight each other here.

Encircling them were the others. The clan and shinobi-born grinned at them wickedly. They all knew to avoid being surrounded. Worse, the civilian-born kids were surrounded

The civilians all looked weak now. Worse some of them were even bleeding. I had no doubt that it was well known in Kiri that blood in the water summoned predators.

You could see the glints in some of the children's eyes. The way they looked pleased at this arrangement made me wonder once more. Did they already all know of the graduation criteria? I glanced at the civilian-born. How did they stop civilians from talking about it?

I looked to my right to see the small girl. She gave me a hesitant smile. I hated the part of me that instantly weighed up how I'd do should it come to a fight between us.

I looked away as Instructor Tenpora continued his lecture. He didn't backtrack to recover the importance of chakra and how you needed to gain control. He didn't use another example of the clone jutsu.

He moved on and began outlining the course outline and what we would be learning that week.

Occasionally he would intersperse his lecture with small genjutsu or a hurled kunai while barking a question. The pattern from earlier was repeated with the clan children seemingly answering without issue.

I noticed a grey-haired girl fidgeting in her seat behind me. She smirked at me when I looked back. I eyed her sharp-looking teeth before returning to looking at the front. I was aware of her for the rest of the class however and how her attention shifted from the front of the room to the girl sitting near me.

She never said or acted on anything, however.

The only shift in the schedule occurred when Tenpora pointed out the window. "Get out onto the field! It's time for physical training! Move!"

The clan born all threw themselves out the window, leaping without care. Only five shinobi-born kids followed them. The rest charged for the front door. I followed after them and the civilians lurched behind.

The small boy that had glared hatefully almost knocked me into a wall when we both reached the door at the same time but I ducked under his shoulder and continued to run, my chakra only barely touched on to give me a bust of speed.

The grey-haired girl had leapt out of the window. So that made her at least shinobi born. When had she entered the room? It was before I got there, wasn't it? She didn't appear to have any clan markings that I could see. Perhaps she was shinobi born?

I raced into the misty fields and saw bodies already leaping over boards and beams. "SPRINT! YOU'RE LATE! LATE IS PRACTICALLY DESERTION! I WILL BREAK YOU AGAIN IF I HAVE TO! TWENTY LAPS THROUGH THE COURSE FOR YOU LOT!" roared Tenpora who'd appeared out of the mist next to our group like a wraith.

I swallowed. I hadn't sensed his approach at all. I fluctuated my chakra and gave chase to the boy who hadn't stopped.

What followed was a course of mud obstacles, straight balance beams that zig-zagged suddenly and often underfoot, balance poles that were occasionally unreliable, flat or angled walls, rope ladders, hanging ropes, a hundred metres of water, and then a flat two hundred metre sprint before beginning again.

Throughout it all, Tenpora and other instructors used genjutsu to make our footing seem to shift or our balance waver.

Just having a vertigo sensation was bad enough but fixing the issue still caused a tiny period of disorientation that made it so much harder until I realised I needed to reinforce myself with chakra through not just my bones and muscles but also my mind and ears to make them more robust.

I was able to keep enough of the mist back to occasionally just see the instructors watching us and making notes on our runs. I noted they watched me enough times to make me curse to myself. I was standing out. I was revealing the tricks that I'd arduously worked for.

When I completed my tenth lap I realised I had overtaken a few clan children and I felt their glares chase me along. They only had to do ten laps due to not being late to the run it turned out. This let them sit off to the side and regather their breath before the next round of physical training which would be basic taijutsu instruction.

Grey-haired girl was there. Sitting and watching.

More genjutsu came at me and I stumbled more but I had to wonder if I hadn't already revealed my hand. My falling into the mud and having to repeat that obstacle might have made some of the clan kids dismiss me, but the instructors surely had shared notes.

I finished the twenty laps with my lungs burning from the workout. Behind me, other children struggled to complete the mandated twenty laps.

Eventually, just as I had settled and finished a full body stretching routine to lessen the pain my muscles were in, Tenpora called a halt.

"Disgraceful! In your spare time, I might recommend to you civics that you practise crawling in the mud! You're currently not even very good at that! You need to be stronger, faster, and more in control of yourself if you want to have a chance at becoming a shinobi!"

He sniffed and swept his hand in two swipes, dividing us into three groups. He pointed at one and numbered us as group one. "You're with me!"

He then assigned two other groups to the other two instructors with him to follow along with the standard Kirigakure fighting style.

"Listen up! This is the basics of the basics! You will learn this in your own time as after this week we will not be repeating it in the academy! There's no point having me waste my time running you through what you can do in your own time! Instead! Next week you will begin fighting each other!"

A number of children grinned at this, while others shook in fear.

He worked us through punches and kicks. Occasionally he would deem to walk among us while calling out a punch or a kick along with a direction. He had us all spaced out enough to see each other and not be in reach unless we very deliberately tried. He'd knock a few people's feet into better position or show them how to form a proper fist. A cliche I was surprised existed in a shinobi village of all things.

It drew laughter from a number of clan kids and they eyed the girl. I grimaced as I noted it was the girl who had sat next to me. Her hair was still matted with blood and she looked exhausted but she pushed herself to continue. Tenpora watched her for a while after that but eventually grunted, nodding once.

He then showed us how to chop or form our hands into daggers that he insisted we only ever use to rip an opponent's eye out.

"Everywhere else, apart from their groins, are typically muscle or bone! So do not try any of that fancy dancy leaf hugger shit! You do not have the bloodline for it!" he roared. A few of the clan kids looked murderous at that but he ignored them and continued to drill us for another ten minutes before calling a halt.

He held his fist up with the arm bent. "This is the stop signal. Watch for it in future. If I have to drop this fist due to some brat talking I'm dropping it on your heads!" He pointed at us all.

"That is the end of today's lessons! You will return—" I glanced up as he outlined that we needed to be back and in the classroom by the ring of the eighth bell toll, earlier than today so we could get more in.

I was surprised that most of the day had already passed without my notice. Was the mist causing me to lose my sense of time passing? Was this another part of the genjutsu or just that I had been that busy. was was this merely another effect of the genjutsu?

It really was playing havoc with me.

The other children vanished into the mist or trudged away. The girl who had invited me to join the civilians slumped down to the ground. I considered her for a second.

I weighed up the issues and hated myself for doing so before approaching her. "Hey, you'll get a cold and only get weaker if you let yourself stay cold. Get warm as fast as you can at home and stretch out your muscles. Eat a big meal."

She stared up at me with huge brown eyes. "Eh?!" she said.

I shook my head. "I said get out of the mud."

"I can't, I'm too tired."

I heaved a sigh and reached down to drag her up. "Eh?!" she said again.

I helped her back to the academy.

"Uhm? This isn't where I live?" she said.

"I'm not going to walk you back to where you live. That's just asking for trouble. Regather your strength here and leave when you're able to." I frowned at her. "Can you cycle your chakra?"

"Uhm? Not really? I have some but not a lot?"

"Do it as often as you can, especially before you go to bed. You need to use it to grow your chakra pool. It'll help with the pain and also your recovery," I said, giving away a trick I'd learnt regarding muscle fatigue and recovery rates over to her freely.

"Thanks," she murmured. "What's your name?" Then she blushed, "I'm Rei Harada! By the way!"

"Matsu," I said, turning away and marching into the academy.

I searched through the rooms and found a number of rooms that were obviously for other classes. None of them were in use though which made me wonder why.

There had to be older age groups surely? Where were they? I continued to search the building and found a room that was much warmer. When I opened the door I had to throw myself out of the way of a kunai.

On the other side a group of instructors glowered out at me when I peered my head around quickly before ducking it back in.

"Feh! It's the little civie brat!" said the kunoichi that had led group three from my class. I had learnt her name was Mizuna, she'd have been quite beautiful if it wasn't for how one ear was mangled.

The other shinobi that had worked with us and whose arm was outstretched having thrown the kunai at me was Geta. A rail-thin man who covered his bald head with a kiri headband. His face was always pinched.

Tenpora leaned across the desk and eyed me thoughtfully. "A question on the first day?"

"Ah, I was actually looking around the place in case you had us run to a different part of the building…" I said trailing off.

It wasn't a full lie but I had also been looking for any advantages I could. Asking questions and getting insight into being a shinobi might just be the best thing I could. "Can I ask questions now?"

"Sure, but we probably won't answer them when they're dumb!" sang the kunoichi.

I nodded slowly. So I needed to make sure they weren't dumb questions? I made sure to think over my next words carefully. Tenpora focused on me more at this a small approving smile almost appeared on his lips before it vanished as if it had merely been a genjutsu.

"..." I opened my mouth to ask an asinine question about chakra control but I already had begun 'tree climbing' and water walking as it was but I had yet to demonstrate them beyond helping my balance slightly and helping to propel myself through the swim. Not even the clan kids had water walking yet. I could only stand on it but that would have seen a lot of attention on me.

"What's up with the mist? It's a genjutsu isn't it?"

That got a whistle from Mizuna. "Little civie's a clever one!" she said as she rocked back onto the chair she was sitting in.

"He's still a civie," scoffed Geta but his eyes watched me. He must have been re-evaluating me. I watched Tenpora. He was obviously in charge. He rubbed his chin.

"Noticed that eh? That, little Matsu, is the idea created by our dear Lord Mizukage to help weed out infiltrators." he tapped his headband. "On every headband there is a specific marker that helps us exclude the mist and move around the Village. Outsiders that have control of their chakra constantly try and get rid of the mist and this helps to reveal them. W—If you make it to Genin you will be given a headband for this but for now get used to moving in the mist. It's natural enough outside the Village anyway" He continued to watch me. Not prompting me but not telling me to get lost.

I dared to ask another question. "A marker can do that?"

"A fuinjutsu one can," he said.

"Fuinjutsu?" I said my voice carefully controlled.

I'd spent hours playing games with the Ladies of the Okiya after I'd introduced them to cards that helped them play games where they read each others' body language. I made sure to very much only convey confused interest and not the hunger I felt at the words being said. "What's that? Is it like ninjutsu?"

Tenpora huffed. "Nothing like it. It's written with a special way to create effects. Depends on how you learn but it's mostly flowery script that causes chakra effects. You need to have good chakra control for it. If you mess up it can result in a lot of bad things happening. You won't learn much of it from us."

I nodded at him. Very much controlling my disappointment. Instead, I diverted. "The clan and shinobi born are better than… pretty much everyone, aren't they? How can I catch up?"

"Train harder than them brat," said Geta.

Mizuna grinned at me and tapped her head. Tenpora looked back at this paperwork and made a note. I didn't get the impression that he was ignoring me but rather that he was thinking about my question and myself.

I shifted as the moment stretched out into awkwardness. Just as I was wondering if I should leave, Tenpora spoke up, "You won't ever get stronger than the clan kids brat. I'd get used to that now."

There was an annoyance in his voice and Geta and Mizuna looked frustrated at his words but didn't speak up against them.

"For the others? Yeah, train hard." A scroll was whipped out and I flinched, my hand shooting up and snatching it from hitting me in the head. Tenpora watched me and nodded.

"Good work on reconnaissance for the academy. It would have been better if you'd done that the day before but we wouldn't have let you in for that… Still, this is good thinking. Keep it up and you'll make genin one day kid." He flicked his hand at me. "Close the door. And don't come back here tomorrow."

Geta grinned. "I won't miss tomorrow."

I shut the door after sketching a bow. Then I continued on my way about the academy searching through and making a mental map of the layout of the building. I even found a way out onto the roof that was open and flat.

And also empty of anything remotely interesting.

At least anything beyond a handful of shuriken that had been swept into a corner and ignored. They were slightly rusty but having them in hand at least made me feel slightly better. I had no delusions that they would change anything should a shinobi confront me but comfort was in short supply in Kirigakure.

When I exited the building I noted that Rei was not still hanging about. The mist had darkened enough to once more become ominous. I jogged back towards the red light district of the village and slipped in the back gate. There I was temporarily fussed over for coming home so late. A number of the ladies checked in on me and I found myself touched that they did care, or at least made the efforts to care.

Even the Madam peered in on me while I was recording the day in text that was as tightly packed as I could. For the first day of the academy, I had learnt some things, discovered others and garnered a whole host of questions. I was treading water and while the instructors had me marked as someone to watch hopefully the clan kids wouldn't be as wary of me right now. They seemed to be my biggest threat in the near future.

"Feh! Good to see my investment in you wasn't worthless!" she said as a way of greeting.

"Pardon?" I asked, putting down my brush as I turned my attention to her. "What would make you think I hadn't been worth it?"

"Sometimes children come back from the academy beaten on their first day. Supposedly it is because they are weak."

I shook my head. "That's not…" I considered my words. "Not, not the case but it's also because things start with them at a disadvantage." I outlined what I'd encountered for the day along with a number of thoughts I had. The Madam sat and listened without comment until I was done while she rubbed her chin in thought.

"Hmmm it is a harsh place for raising harsh men and women for sure. It explains why so many civilians fail to make the grade." She patted me on the shoulder. "Keep your head up and look around for trouble going forward."

I nodded before going through the 'kata' that Tenpora had shown us. I made sure to practise it through a number of different ranges and positions always picturing a foe to make it as realistic as I could. I'd need a training partner to make it work for me in future.

I paused in my thrown punch. That thought struck me as important. I ran through a cool-down and continued to ruminate on it. I needed a partner… to practise with or on… but why stop there?

I spared a glance at the scroll only to find that it was the basics of developing control of chakra. A written treatise on finding and controlling the flow of chakra along with the water sticking exercise which was basically the leaf sticking exercise from Konoha. I read through it for anything that was different from my understanding.

And there was a small nugget of information.

"—sensitivity can be further developed by being near chakra sources while depleted. The body will react to chakra sources larger than it and operating at minimal sources allows the body to increase its awareness."

I already knew I had mild chakra sensing skills but I had no idea how to develop this without giving away that I possessed such a skill. This tiny paragraph of text offered me another option and reinforced my idea of getting a training partner.

I went to bed that night with my chakra cycling and leaking through my body to do away with the aches.

I went to bed and my mind kept playing over the scene of Rei inviting me into safety. She hadn't known accepting would have condemned me to what looked like a beating. She had exhausted herself and been too weak. She seemed too weak to survive what was to come. She really hadn't deserved that. None of them had. My stomach twisted at the thought of what was to come for them.

The smart option was to become friends with a shinobi-born kid. They'd kick my butt but I'd get better from the experience. And then I'd think of how beaten up the other civilian kids had been.

I kept finding myself turning a single thread of thought over and over in my mind. Was there a way to save them… or at least give them a chance?

The next day I got up and worked hard at my 'kata' and chakra control, working my way slowly up a wall with tentative steps until my chakra coils ached from how empty they were.

I had another hour and a half before needing to be at the academy, so I ate some breakfast and meditated. I wouldn't have my entire chakra pool back but I'd have enough. Hopefully, we'd get a few more examples of jutsu today. I'd recorded the clone jutsu from yesterday and planned to practise it in future.

Any and all jutsu I could learn would be a boon. I was going to hoard any jutsu I could find for the day that I could perform them. Before I headed out to the academy I paused over the scroll of chakra control.

If things went south it would be a bargaining chip to secure myself some 'study buddies'. My arrival at the academy was early by at least an hour but I still wasn't the first person there.

A number of the Karatachi and Yuki children had already claimed their seats. Amusingly they seemed to bristle and give off an air of 'guarding' the seats behind them for the Terumi and Hozuki respectively.

I watched them watch each other with interest as other people trickled into the room.

Rei hurried in with at least ten minutes to spare and the relief that came with this knowledge was obvious to all as she sagged into her seat. Her hair no longer had blood in it but I could make out some stitches making her hair sit awkwardly.

"Hey!" she said as she smiled at me.

"Hey," I said quietly. I flicked my eyes around the room and lightly shook my head.

"Thanks for yesterday!" she said unable to read my reluctance. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. She leaned in. "Hey? Is anything wrong?" I dropped my grip and stared at her.

She was looking like a puppy but I really wanted to steal Shikamaru's quote before he had any chance to use it. Girls were troublesome.

A low growl warned me that something was going on before I had even turned my head. I looked and found the girl that had been watching Rei and I yesterday stalking up to us. She slammed her fist into Rei's desk.

"You're in my seat civie!" she said as she glared at Rei. Rei blanched and stood only to be pushed out of her chair. The girl then sat in the chair only to scowl as she shuffled about in a vague show of getting comfortable.

She turned and looked directly at me.

Oh hell no.

I idly noted the symbol of the Kaguya clan on her shoulder as I relaxed in readiness.

"Hey! Civie! I was wrong! You're in my—"

And so it was on the second day of the academy that I learnt something important about myself.

I was not above kicking a little girl in the face.

Sadly this wasn't enough to put her down. I stood and readied myself for the first fight in this life.

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A.N. When in Kiri…. Am I right? This story is unbeta'd so I hope there are not too many glaring issues!