A day at the Academy (Part 1) (Private)

It was a day just like any other for the prosperous Village Hidden in the Leaves as the sun shined on the many adults and children that walked the streets going about their day doing various tasks and errands. Multiple stores were just now opening, raising their metal shutters off of the doors into their shops, as many signs were shifted from "Closed" to "Open" as their first customers that were lined up outside were given the opportunity to finally enter and go about their business. Many restaurants were in the process of cooking the food that they served to meal goers as chimneys were now starting to be filled with smoke that travelled outwards and made it's way through the village and filling many nostrils with delicious smells. Birds flew and chirped over the village and filled the streets with their songs to let everyone know that a new day was beginning and it was going to be a very pretty day by the looks of the weather. Within the village stood the ninja academy, a school that has withstood the test of time within the village for many years and was revered as a place full of learning aspiring ninja wishing to grow into true defenders of the village alongside those older then them and more experienced. What seemed to be mere children were young sprouts destined to grow into fine shinobi one day.

One such child walked into the bustling courtyard of the academy, filled with other children chatting with one another eager to start their day, while carrying a small backpack over her shoulders filled with books and her training gear as she walked past all of the students. She wore a black coat, even though the day was warm and sunny, which held the insignia of the Uchiha clan along the black proudly displayed for everyone to see. Many children stopped their conversations to take notice of this newcomer, some of the other girls gossiping over rumors about her, as she stood by the entrance of the academy with her hands in her pockets and leaned against a wall while closing her eyes. She was listening to the many out loud conversations of the other students: how they knew about who her parents were and what came of them, how her grades are on top compared to everyone else's grades, how she's shown how adept she is in multiple things. She was the main talk of everyone in the courtyard and she wanted the academy to hurry up and let them all in already so that she could get away from such publicity.

It didn't take long for her wish to be granted as the door unlocked and one of the teachers of the academy swung it open for the class to enter. She would be the first of the children to do so as she walked within the halls of the academy towards her homeroom class while making certain to ignore anyone who whispered about her behind her back. She walked into her classroom, removing her pack off of her back, as she took her seat in the back of the class and set the bag beside her while pulling out a notebook and catching up on her notes from last class. The last time she had been here they were talking about the uses and positives of knowing the clone technique in situations of battle and espionage. She was already familiar with how the clone technique worked though, in her opinion, it wasn't too good of a technique to revolve one's skills around. Especially since it was so low a skill anyone with a modicum of chakra could do it. That didn't mean that she wasn't going to learn it as it was still a technique that could prove of some use in specific situations.

She sat at her end of the long table that could seat two more students as she always usually took one of the seats that was right beside the window which looked out into the village outside. She watched as a few late students tried their best to run as fast as they could past school grounds in order to get to class while allowing her mind to wander while also viewing the clouds roll past in the blue sky, shades of the clouds roaming the grounds, which gave such a serene look to the world she couldn't help but smile. Checking the time on the clock along the wall it was just about almost time for the class to begin so Sarah got out her books and binders and set them neatly on the table in front of her just as she noticed two other classmates she had gotten to know over her time learning in the academy take seats at her desk. She knew they usually sat beside her to get to know the daughter of two of the leaf's best ninja but she never really spoke to either of them and this caused them to develop a sort of "speak only when spoken to" sort of silent attitude towards her.

A short while later their teacher came in, a sort of bouncy and energetic woman, who was said to be the great granddaughter of one of the Hokages. Which one Sarah was unsure but it wasn't like she really had much of an interest in such a fact either way. She focused her attention on her lecture as she took down notes on what was to be the main focus of transformation. It was a technique that allowed skilled ninja to be able to take in the likenesses of any individual they wanted to be. The things to take into account were the facts that a ninja could not take in their voice patterns nor could they take on their chakra signatures. That much was obvious as a person could only take on their appearance and not anything else. It was a good technique to know if you happened to have other techniques to help perfect it such as the ability to suppress your chakra as well as a jutsu to allow you to change your voice.

She jotted down notes of the technique as the teacher continued to speak to the class about everything that went into the technique before looking around the classroom. "Now, class, I would like for you to come to the front of the class and practice and see if you can perform this jutsu. It's a very advanced jutsu so if you don't get it right the first time don't worry. All it takes is practice and you'll be able to get it down in a short amount of time." She looked around the classroom to all the students before setting eyes upon one of Sarah's classmates. "Akane? Would you like to come up first?" Another Uchiha, who Sarah had heard about, came up to the front as she seemed rather nervous though proceeded to form the hand signs for the jutsu before becoming enveloped in smoke. Sarah could see the chakra that had surrounded Akane before disappearing in the smoke and knew that she had succeeded in acquiring a different form. Once the smoke had cleared Akane was now in the form of the current Hokage standing with a smirk on her face as even she knew that she had succeeded. After the teacher congratulated her Akane had changed back and was making her way back to her seat.

"Ok! That was really well done, Akane. Next up for the transformation technique why don't we have... Sarah come up next?" Sarah perked up upon hearing her name echo through the classroom before nodding to the teacher and getting up from her chair. Making her way through her two other classmates, who got out of her way kindly, she walked down the steps to the front of the room to stand in front of the teacher before preparing her chakra within her. She clapped her hands together and allowed her chakra to regulate through her body as she felt the familiar sensation of her chakra becoming ready to use as she began to form the necessary hand seals necessary to bring out her transformation technique. As she closed her eyes she focused on an image within her head of who she wanted to transform before smoke suddenly puffed up around her whole body.

The smoke around her mingled for a little bit, she could feel certain aspects of her body adjusting to take on the aspects of who she had transformed into, as the smoke would slowly clear to reveal a figure cloaked and hooded with a wooden mask resembling a bear over their face. The teacher tilted her head to the side as she looked at the new person standing before her. "Uh... Who is this supposed to be, Sarah?" Sarah would then raise a hand to remove the mask away as the face of her mother would be revealed and the class would gasp at the likeness of one of the village's strongest past Anbu. Even the teacher looked impressed though worried as she made a note of how convincing of a transformation it was. "Good job, Sarah, as always. You may return to your seat." With that confirmation Sarah changed back into herself after another poof of smoke appeared around her and she went back over to her seat before sitting back beside the window and began to make notes about the ways on how she could possibly improve upon her technique and make it even better. It would require a lot of work but she was certainly the woman to do it if she could find the time to do so.

The rest of class went on as usual with the teacher calling the names of other students to try the technique out for the class as most students showed their inefficiency with the technique by having defects with the forms they turned into. Sarah watched some of the students as they tried to perform the technique but most of the time her mind would wander to what was going on outside more as she wanted to mainly get out and practice her fire breathing technique more. She had been shown by her father the basics of how to breathe out a flame but all she was able to form so far was a little itty bitty stream of flame barely able to burn anything. She thought about whether or not it was because she didn't have enough chakra within her in order to perform it the way it was meant to be performed or if she possibly wasn't using enough of the reserves that she had within her. Maybe she would put a bit more chakra into the flames just to see what would happen once she got out of class and away from the eyes of all her curious peers.

The teacher clapped the chalkboard with a ruler, bringing Sarah's attention back into the classroom as well as other students who had dozed off during the transformation, demonstrations, as she put the ruler back down and looked at all the students before smiling. "Ok. Some of you did very very well with your jutsus. Most of you could do with some practice. Don't let it get you down. As I said previously it is not a jutsu most get down upon their first try unless you've had previous practice with chakra training. A lot of you seem to have done such training already which is quite the accomplishment and I must say you're already on your way to graduating very soon. Perhaps, in your spare times, you can train your other classmates and help them in being able to control their chakras better... That gives me an idea! Tomorrow we shall all have a joint training class where you all will be paired with partners and will try your very best to master the transformation technique by the end." Sarah sighed at this as she really didn't want to be paired with anybody and the thought of such things as helping those who couldn't get down such a easy technique themselves annoyed her.

"Alright. In order to initiate this project better we will need to take things outside so if you all would please make your way in a neat line to the outside for me please? You may leave your things where they are. You won't need to take notes for this or anything of that nature." Sarah shrugged as the rest of her classmates got up and made their way to the door of the room as she followed by standing, making certain that her stuff was secured under her portion of the desk, before making her way out of the classroom with the rest of her students. As she made her way out she took note of how the teacher locked the door behind everyone as she had brought her hands up to form a single hand sign and a small circle appeared in strange formations wrapped around the handle of the door. With her eyes and studies she could see that it was a seal designed to lock out anyone who wasn't allowed inside. She would need to learn that technique herself soon as she made a mental note to study on how to form a seal herself at a later time when she was alone.

Sarah followed her classmates as they made their way to the double doors that led outside to the training field of the academy as the class formed a line beside the wall and the teacher smiled to each of them. "Alright, class. I'm going to pair each of you up with another class member, preferably someone who has the technique down, and they're going to help you out in understanding the jutsu better so that you'll be able to perform it yourself. Alright so first up: Akane paired up with Kyrie, Shino paired up with Chime, Sarah paired up with Trunks..." The teacher continued to name off pairs as Sarah looked around to find her partner. She didn't really know Trunks as he, like her, mainly kept to himself away from the rest of the class. As the teacher finished naming off the partners she and he would get together away from the rest of the group as Trunks shared an awkward silence with her. "So... Uh... I have a feeling I know how to use it but... I'm not sure my chakra is up for it."

"You don't need to worry about that... Practice with it and your chakra will adapt automatically."

Trunks was surprised by what she had said but nodded as he took in a deep breath and began to form the required hand signs and began to be shrouded in smoke as he tried to take the form of different people, mainly the other classmates, as he was able to transform into other classmates however with very big differences in how they actually looked. He made this mistake constantly throughout his time trying to get the jutsu down as Sarah watched and tried to see exactly where he was going wrong so that she could possibly help him out. He seemed to indeed get the gist of how to use the jutsu but he just needed to get his chakra to form the way he needed it to so that the form he made would be complete and without errors. She would nod at times when she saw him recreate other classmates without any blemishes or the like on them as he would continue to practice until he made certain that he got it perfectly.

 She would watch this process as the class went about doing their jutsu practice for a full hour before the teacher clapped her hands and stopped the class from continuing. "Alright! Really good work class. Now since we're outside right now I'd like for you all to grab yourself some practice shurikens and prepare for some target practice." She formed a hand sign as a puff of smoke appeared inside her hand and a small box opened containing dulled shuriken laid in her palm. Sarah walked up and took six of them as other students walked up and took their shurikens as the teacher stood by and watched as they all lined up in a row as they viewed wood dummies that were to be used as targets. "Ok, class. I would like for you all to make certain you throw hard and fast but most of all accurately. We don't want any of these shuriken going and damaging anything we don't want them to. While they may not be able to cut as good as they would whole they can still fly through a window and possibly poke someone's eye out so take aim, steady yourselves, and throw. Keep calm as you do and you'll be fine."

Sarah looked at her wood dummy and shuffled her shuriken over her hands as she took three shuriken in each hand and closed her eyes before taking in a deep breath. Before any of her other classmates could throw their own shuriken hers had already left her hands as they soared through the air in an arch before homing in on the target in question and jamming into her dummy so hard the dulled edges sank in and stayed within the dummy. Everyone looked to see who had thrown said shuriken and were awed by Sarah who was getting up from her throwing stance and moving some of her hair out of her eyes. "Masterfully done as always, Sarah. It's amazing how well you can control your shuriken in such a way already. There aren't many ninja out there that can make their shuriken arch in such ways as you can. You should be proud of your abilities." Sarah gave a small smile to the compliment before stepping aside to keep out of the way of her other classmates while they proceeded with their practice.

She watched the rest of the students go about their business as she closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the shuriken flying through the air and the piercing of the wooden dummies as some hit them while others would miss. It helped her recall the times when she was practicing such things with her mother, showing her how to handle shuriken and how best to make them unpredictable if fighting an enemy, as she could recall every word her mother said of the occasion. She remembered how she showed Sarah the more advanced parts of shuriken handling as she would wow Sarah by way of throwing the shuriken and making them hit each other in order to have them change direction in midair. What's more she would make them hit multiple targets she had placed in various locations after doing so which always made Sarah want to practice with the shuriken herself. That was the first time she had cut herself with the shuriken after dropping one on her foot. Her mother, versed in healing, took care of her while she cried. No matter what the situation her mother always had a smile to give Sarah and brighten up her day... And now she was gone... leaving Sarah all alone.

Sarah allowed a sigh to escape her lips as she opened her eyes back up and felt something running down her cheek as she tapped it to find that a tear had fell. Memories of her mother made her sad, true, but now the memories seemed to hurt all the more the more time she spent without her mother's love. She could feel a pain within her head as she put a hand over her eyes due to feeling something changing within them. It was as though a key to a lock she always had trouble unlocking had finally been dropped into her lap as she focused her chakra within her eyes and she felt that lock suddenly melt away. Taking her hand away from her eyes she took in a deep breath and opened her eyes as she focused on the world with seemingly new eyes as she looked at one of her students and could see a mild amount of... colorful aura pouring out of them. Confused she looked over to her teacher and saw the same type of color coming out of her only in much more potent detail. Was this... chakra?

She blinked a couple of times as she stopped focusing her chakra into her eyes and she could see everything as she could before. She wondered what that could have possibly been. She had learned from her parents that Uchiha had a special ability that took quite a toll to awaken yet once awakened could strengthen an Uchiha exponentially once mastered. They had called it the Sharingan and it was a special eye possessed only by those with Uchiha blood that was said to be able to present the capability of reacting to chakra and the movements of other ninja with better proficiency. She could certainly see what they had meant as she experimented and channeled chakra into her eyes and looked at her classmates once again. Once more the chakras within them showed in full force in the form of small auras which surrounded their bodies and provided them with the energy necessary to perform jutsus as well as their shuriken techniques. Compared to the teacher's none of them, not even her, compared to the amount of chakra that she held within her. Sarah knew, though, that with time, training, and patience she'd be able to raise her own chakra to that level and maybe, just maybe, surpass it. Seeing her chakra she closed her eyes and took in a breath as she relaxed her chakra and felt her eyes relax as well.

After a little while of waiting the teacher once more clapped her hands as the students still trying to hit their targets stopped with what they were doing and turned to look over to her. "Alright, class, very good work. I can definitely see that a majority of you are certainly improving. Keep up the good work and I know you all will get it down pat in no time. For right now, though, I believe it's time we go back inside and learn more about other jutsus that would be useful to you. Don't worry about gathering your shurikens. I'll take care of that." She thus went over to the door as the class followed her into the building while Sarah walked over to the door and was stopped by her teacher. She had closed the door as the two of them had privacy with each other and she looked into Sarah's eyes.

"Sarah, I saw what happened to you during target practice. I wish to congratulate you for awakening your Sharingan but I must give you this warning: The Uchiha's power has always been a power strengthened by pain and sadness. While I'm certain life only holds more of that in store for you, as your teacher, I must advise you to not let such things consume you and change who you are. You are a very strong kunoichi already. Don't let thoughts of hatred or self doubt change you... Ok?" Sarah didn't exactly understand what she was going on about, at first, but she nodded all the same if only to have the teacher walk away. Once the teacher seemed satisfied with the answer she got back up with a smile and held the door open for Sarah to walk through. "Good. Let's hurry on to class." Sarah nodded again, walking inside, as she rolled her eyes while thoughts of class soon being over flooded her mind and she smiled with joy at such thoughts. She couldn't wait to get home and try to learn more about her Sharingan.

{Exit}

(WC 4,005)

(Claiming 10 stat points and one tomoe Sharingan. Also claiming Transformation, Substitution, Surface Walking, and Clone techniques.)

Approved.