The Past Lesson

Botso arrived at the entrance of the academy on time, and he stopped to look at the entrance. The emblem of the Hidden Leaf Village, towering over the two large red wooden doors, seemed like the entrance to a place unfamiliar to him, a place he did not want to go. Yet, he had crossed that threshold many times before, but that night he had an uneasy feeling, and Botso woke up with a vague sense of anxiety. It would be the first time he returned to the academy since his mother passed away, and he felt both worried and excited. The thought of going back to lessons, studying, and testing himself thrilled him, but he had been absent for a long time, and he wondered if he would be able to catch up on all the missed lessons and keep up with his classmates.
He swallowed his fear and with a feeling of a brick in his stomach, he made his way to the classroom. He paused for a moment to take a deep breath and ease some of the anxiety, with little success, but he entered anyway. No one had arrived yet, and the sun's rays projected a warm, dense orange light into the room at that hour. That scene lightened Botso's anxiety a bit, "The beauty of the sun at this time in the morning hasn't changed," but his expression remained tense. As he went to sit at his place, he noticed something written on the blackboard. He glanced at it quickly, as if it didn't concern him, "What is written there? ... I don't know those symbols ... Ch-chakra?!"
The brief glimpse of that word was enough to shatter the brick he felt in his stomach, and Botso's mood suddenly lightened. "Perhaps they explained some jutsu? Or some theoretical explanation about chakra? ... The next lesson is almost here, but I can try to understand something ... Will the teacher or some other student arrive before? ... Ah, these are useless questions."
He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and holding his breath for a few seconds to realign his mind and body, then exhaling and opening his eyes, he felt a release from the base of his neck down his back, relaxing him.
He took his notebook, went to the first blank page, and fixed his gray eyes on the blackboard. They sparkled with determination, and his face showed a determined and serious expression. The anxiety that had accompanied him since the morning was gone, and his mind was free to concentrate. "Now it's time to get to work and not give up!" he said to himself and began trying to understand what had been covered in the past lesson, waiting for someone to arrive.


WC 456

Chiming in to the early birds hovering about from tree to tree, Okisho is seen staring out of a rather larger retangular window from one of the many offices in the infamous Leaf Shinobi Academy building. He never thought that he would return to these halls, they echoed of footsteps from the many lower ranks that would represent the future of this great village’s security. Hand cuffed below his chin, he scans the outside obstacle course, which still remained in good condition; alot of people went through hell during their first attempt at it. Hell, a few even ended up in the hospital. The seeming distant memories of it all slowly seemed from within his mind.

Along with that, a few other instances came to mind. He wondered if the cafeteria food was the same? It wasn’t anything special, the food was frozen. But, there was something about that made him crave it. Nostalgia? Perhaps, but maybe it ended up being the student’s ultimate comfort food after a big test or training excersize.

Accompanied with, Okisho, was his old instructor. He requested Okisho‘s assistance with today‘s task. Unforunately, the class he held, in five minutes, was going to have a test today. It was a placement test, to get s good idea where the class as a whole currently stood. Most of the students entering the academy were no stranger to how shinobi and the entire system worked. Almost everyone has heard of chakra, it‘s practically in every living thing. Even during a checkup in a clinic, test are done to gauge whether or not an illness is caused by some irregularity in one‘s chakra network.

It wasn‘t a requirement to know these things, but chanes are you‘ve heard of it. Nevertheless, the exams were harmless, they werent going to harm any of the student’s grades.

With the tests ready, Okisho gathered them and followed his old instructor out of the office closely. Glancing at the stack of test books within his hands, thinking back to the time when he was issued these very same tests. “Sensei Iruk, do the students know about the exams?”, he inquired. He had a feeling he already knew the answer, and judging by the way Iruk looked back towards him with a devilish smirk…, he was right on the money. “Poor kids…”, he mutteted. Finally, the two entered the auditorium like classroom. Iruk’s presence caused a complete chatter vaccum which rentered the classroom silent.

As for attire, Okisho is a minimalist, nothing too flashy and void of any logos. He is seen wearing a simple all light grey shirt, and a pair of dark navy-blue slacks which stop at the top of his ankles. A single ninja pouch concealed underneath his black shirt. The pouch his attached to his black leather belt, fastened on the back right side of his waist. His shoes are standard issued shinobi editions, revealing his toes and back ankles. His shinobi headband is tied tight against his forehead, but not so much to cause any discomfort.

His Sensei on the other hand, was dressed like any other shinobi from the leaf. Navy blue long sleeve shirt, and pants. And a forest green flak jacket with the Uzumaki symbol stamped on the back.

“Good Morning, Class 310. Today’s lesson, is a review of everything we’ve gone over in the past few classes that I’ve wanted you to know, while also, testing you one what you should’ve already knew”, Okisho stood behind Sensei Iruk, as he seemed to have scared half of the class already. Him just mentioning the word test, caused most of the students to widen their eyes. Even Okisho grew a bit uncomfrotable as he stared back at the glass-eyed children, seeming void of any hope.

“My assistant, Okisho Uchiha, will be passing out your exams. On cue, Okisho proceeded with his task and passed out the exams. “There will be questions on chakra network anatomy, jutsu theory, hand seal styles from all regions of the map, shinobi tactics 1 2 and 3, and past hokage feats. And like I always say, there are no multiple choice questions~”, Sensei Iruk said with a smile. Half of the class groaned with disapointment. “Oooh, don’t worry, there are a few bonus questions from my favorite, book “the art of war”. Remember! In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity”, he said with a a giggle.

As he continued to pass out the exams, he reaches the last student, a young red head child who seemed as determined as ever. He stood out from the crowd, among all the misery, the child remained vigilant. That’s a first. “You seem ready. How do you think you will do on the exam?”, he withholds the final test in his hand away from the child till he answers.
—-
TWC/ 805

The rays of the sun passing through the windows gave a special shine to the hair of a young inhabitant of Konoha, they almost seemed to be made of red silk; the same light reflected in his big gray eyes that sparkled with curiosity. His eyebrows were arched downwards, and his forehead was furrowed as he stared at the blackboard: Uzumaki Botso was deeply focused.
"... from what I understand, there are several ways to manipulate chakra, some simpler and more elementary, and others more complex. Here, Sensei Iruk gives two examples of single-seal techniques: Bunshin no Jutsu and Henge no Jutsu. When performing Bunshin no Jutsu, it's like projecting chakra inward, focusing on our body and our image to create a duplicate of ourselves. On the other hand, when performing Henge no Jutsu, we concentrate on someone else's image to take on their appearance, and therefore, it is necessary to direct our chakra outward... okay, I'm following so far. If we combine these two methods and form specific hand seals, we can execute other techniques... and here, in my opinion, Sensei might have used Kawarimi no Jutsu as an example... the hand seals that are recognized well are: Tiger, Bear, Ox... and if you conclude the sequence with Dog and Snake... we can perform that jutsu, but the hand seals that conclude the formula used by Iruk Sensei are erased, unfortunately…like the other half of the lesson, it seems to focus more on manipulation rather than formulas..." Young Uzumaki felt he was on the right track; his reasoning flowed smoothly and clearly, giving him self-confidence. He took his eyes off the blackboard and looked at the notes he had extracted from the Past Lesson; it was now almost a personal challenge between himself and his school absences. "Okay, let's forget about formulas and hand seals and focus on chakra manipulation... for example, what if I tried to apply an external chakra manipulation and focused on myself? What effect would I achieve?", he asked himself mentally.
Suddenly, Botso was distracted by the clamor and chatter of other students entering the room, making it impossible for him to concentrate on the Previous Lesson. "Ugh, what a drag, I can't concentrate anymore!" he thought. Then, suddenly, a reverential silence fell upon the classroom, and Iruk Sensei entered the room accompanied by an individual Botso had never seen before. Instinctively, he stood up politely, bowing in a sign of respect to greet the two adults entering the room, holding that position for a moment before sitting back down.
He listened attentively to Iruk Sensei's words, and for a moment, his determination wavered. "Oh no! I'm sure he'll ask about things I haven't studied due to my long absence... The test will probably have a question about the Previous Lesson. I don't even know if the result of this test affects my admission to the Genin one," he initially thought, "but I can't do anything about it... it's like my mom's illness, things that must be accepted and faced, I shouldn't assume I'll fail the test in advance!"
Botso remained calm as Iruk Sensei's assistant moved from one student to another, delivering the test papers. "Uchiha Okisho, looking so neat... and minimal, it's the first time I've seen a member of the Uchiha clan up close... their hair is as dark as the night," he thought as Okisho approached Botso's desk. "... and their eyes resemble a starless night sky..he looks mysterious, but not frightening.”
When the assistant reached Botso, he asked if he felt ready, handing him the test sheet. Botso's gray eyes looked into the black ones of the Uchiha. "No, not at all. I have no idea what this exam is about, but I'm here now and don't want to back down," he thought to himself, "Unfortunately, I've been absent for a long time due to a family bereavement, and I've missed many lessons," he politely told the shinobi, "...but I don't want to use it as an excuse."
He brought his left hand closer to the test paper. "I don't know how I'll do on the exam, but I'm curious to find out."
Botso shifted his gaze to the test, his eyes gleaming with curiosity to discover what kind of questions were written on that sheet, but with a delicate gesture, he merely brushed the paper, as if to take it, but didn't grab it. "I don't want to be too eager; I'll wait for Mr. Okisho to hand it to me."


WC 751

He smirks apologetically at the academy student’s attitude towards the test. It was unfortunate that he had to deal with family issued that could potentially set his advancement in the academy back a year. However, he had to respect guy’s determination to press forward. That’s what it all really mattered when attending the academy. Despite all the obstacles, pressing on is what separated the attendees from graduates. Whether he knew it or not, the red head had quite a future ahead of him. Whether it be a shinobi or not.

“Very well…”, he stated blunted. The student made his mind up. He places the test on desk, and slides it towards the eager student. “Good luck, and don’t forget to write your name”, he walks away casually while giving him a lingering gaze. After that, he walks around the classroom, patrolling the room should incase anyone decided to cheat.

Spoiler:

After the test, and class, was over. Okisho turned in the exams to Sensei Iruk. Iruk of course did not tell the students their grades, he preferred them to stu in worry and discomfort. It was his main take away about being a shinobi. Nothing is easy, or will ever be put to ease till the mission is done. The students attending the academy was one big mission, probably the longest mission most will ever go through.

As for Okisho, he left the classroom a while ago, and je did so with haste, due to the fact that he wanted to meet up with Botso. He casually waited outside of the academy building, waiting for all the students to leave the building. He was accompanied by a few parents, wondering and waiting all the same. It wasn’t like he had anything else to do, he was free for the rest of the day.

Should he see, Botso, he would flag him down and ask him what he thought about the test and how well he thought he did.
—-
TWC/ 1208

"Arigatou gozaimasu," the student responded formally. Uchiha Okisho had placed the paper on the desk upside down so that the students couldn't read it before the teacher's signal to begin. Botso's gaze shifted from the partially erased chalkboard to the exam paper, waiting for Iruk Sensei's permission to start.
"Come on, Sensei, let's begin... don't keep us in suspense for too long," he thought. Iruk Sensei raised his right arm slowly and brought it down quickly, exclaiming, "Hajime!"

"Finally, let’s start!" the red-haired boy thought as he turned the paper and quickly glanced at it. Then he took the pen and wrote his name and his clan's name in the designated space, aiming to be precise and neat. He began reading the questions mentally to get an idea of the exam.
"After the first read, some questions don't seem too difficult... I'll tackle these first so I can concentrate on the others later," he planned.

The first question Botso answered was number 3: "The twelve fundamental seals are based on the twelve zodiac animals," he wrote in the answer box for that question. For a brief moment, memories of his childhood came to his mind, when those gestures were used as a game rather than components of jutsu formulas. Somewhat reluctantly, he set aside those pleasant memories and refocused on the task; the concepts he had gleaned from the Past Lesson less than an hour ago had awakened in the young Uzumaki's mind the right arguments to answer question number 1 correctly.
To answer the first question, he wrote, "The Tenketsu, the release points along the chakra network, are 361."
"The correct answer to the third question should be Ninjutsu; Genjutsu are techniques that affect the opponent's senses, while Taijutsu is the art of close combat." The young Uzumaki wrote the answer with confidence. "Yes, I'm quite sure my reasoning is correct."

Botso raised his gaze for a moment: his classmates all had their heads down on their tasks, and at the front of the room, Iruk Sensei and Uchiha Okisho were carefully watching to ensure that no student looked away from their own paper. "I wonder how many will pass the test," he wondered, then his gray eyes refocused on the paper. "I've already answered half of the questions... let's see if I can answer them all."
The realization of completing half the test despite his absence motivated him, and he approached the remaining three questions with a positive attitude.
He reread them all carefully, initially focusing on question number 5. He knew the names of the Seven Hokages of the ancient era, but he often got confused about the correct order. After a few minutes of contemplation, he began to write the name of the Second Hokage, but as he was writing, he realized it was wrong and attempted to correct it. "Ah, darn it, it looks messy... it's clear that I corrected it midwrite," Botso scolded himself mentally. The answer to the fifth question in Uzumaki Botso's exam read: "Senju Tobi Hashirama, the first Hokage."
"Now I only have the hardest questions left: 4 and 6," thought the young Uzumaki as he concentrated on finding the answers to the last two questions, on which he wasn't very certain.
He was a polite boy and tried to respect the rules, but memorizing lists wasn't his strong suit. Even though he knew the battle rules of the shinobi and that they referred to behaviors to adopt for mission success, he couldn't remember the second of these rules precisely.

"You still have ten minutes," Iruk Sensei's words brought Botso back to reality for a moment; many of his classmates had already finished, and only Botso and a few other students remained at their desks.

"Darn it! There's really not much time left, I need to hurry if I want to try and answer all six questions," and completely relying on chance, he wrote: "The second rule of shinobi battles states that a shinobi must never show weakness." He was certain that was one of the rules.
"I wonder if this will be the second rule," he thought as his eyes read the sixth and final question carefully; at first, he didn't understand it, "Ouch, I think this question refers to a text they read when I was absent... I expected something like this... but the title 'The Art of War' doesn't sound unfamiliar... it seems like one of those books Tomiko might read."

The time available for the exam was about to run out, and Botso had only one question left to answer, but even if he left it blank, he would still be satisfied with himself. "I'm pretty sure I've answered four questions correctly, while on one I'm not so sure... even if I can't answer the last one, I shouldn't feel discouraged... despite my long absence, I don't think I did a bad job... but that title sounds familiar, where have I heard it before?" he was searching his young memory to remember where he had already heard the title of that book.
Slowly, fragments of an episode from his young past began to emerge, back when his mother hadn't yet been confined to bed by illness, albeit vague: he was helping his sister Tomiko prepare equipment for a mission, ninja tools covered every surface of the room, it seemed like there were more than the room could hold... they were talking, joking, or perhaps laughing, it wasn't clear, but they were having an exchange. As those mental images began to fade, a phrase from that fragment emerged: "... and always remember, Botso, that fights, like wars, are based on deception..." Tomiko's voice made him open his eyes suddenly.

In front of him was only an empty space for question number 6, and time was about to expire. "Sister... it's now or never!" he thought as he filled the space with the word "Deception" just seconds before Iruk Sensei declared the end of the allotted time.

Botso was the first to enter the classroom that day and the last to submit the exam. When he left the academy, he heard a voice calling his name; it was Uchiha Okisho inviting him to come closer.

"What could he want from me... now that I think about it, before the exam, he seemed a bit abrupt... oh no! I hope I didn't come across as rude," he adjusted his poncho and approached the shinobi. He was pleasantly surprised and relieved by Okisho's words.
"Thank goodness, he doesn't seem upset about my answer... on the contrary, he seems interested in hearing what I think," the boy with the poncho thought.
"I appreciate your interest, Okisho-san," he thought politely with a bow. "The exam wasn't easy, but it didn't seem impossible. I tried to answer all six questions... although I admit some were more instinctual than reasoned."
Botso bit his lip. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that last part, idiot!" he continued. "Anyway, I don't think I did a bad job. I feel quite confident," he concluded, raising his head. The sunlight, high in the sky, reflected in Botso's eyes, subtly shifting their shades of light gray, as they awaited a response from Uchiha's well-groomed face.


WC 1203

A muffled chuckle escaped his lips upon hearing Botso talk about the test. He still had no clue that the test held no weight towards the students final grades. It was simple, a tradition that Sensei Iruk kelt going. It was good that people like him were still around. He locks eyes with Botso as he approached his form, the gleaming eyes of the innocent saught high praise from the Uchiha it seemed. He took in all his facial cues and mannerisms too, the boy seemed quite uneasy. Was Okisho’s presence that demanding? Okisho didn’t see himself of that manner, for he himself had much to prove.

“Worry not about the test, Botso…”, he scans fir surroundings once more to see that the others were quite a distance from them. Not within earshot, “It won’t affect your grades at all. It’s merely a placement test. And… an age old tradition that is still being held by the superiors. Iruk did the same thing to me and my class”, he said while adjusting his form.

“Also, the answer to question five was Viper Uchiha. That was probably the easiest question on the exam. But, now you know.”, he pauses for a bit to let it sink in. The events that happened during his reign were quite infamous.

“I actually wanted talk to you a bit, you seemed like you were carrying around alot of weight. Me, and Sensei Iruk thought as much.”, he knew the boy had trouble at home, hence the missing class. If Okisho could help out the young student, with the kikd action of lending an ear, it could go along way future wise in helping secure a brighter future for the village. Who knows what Botso could become?

“There’s a good grab and go stand down in the Okinaga district. Wanna talk there, im buying?”, if he accepted, the two would venture off to the district and end up sitting on the high cushioned plastic stools outside under the thick covers.




—-
TWC/1499

If Okisho hadn't reassured him about the nature of the exam, Botso would have blushed so much from embarrassment that his face would have turned the same color as his hair. "I got confused on the simplest question of the test, what a Baka!" he scolded himself, and  lowered his gaze out of embarrassment.
He didn't expect Uchiha's proposal, but he appreciated it.

"Not long after mom passed away, Tomiko had to leave for a mission far from the village..."
It had been a long time since he had eaten in company, and Okisho's proposal reminded him of how enjoyable it was to talk while sharing a meal, as well as a strong sense of appetite.
Botso tried to stay serious, as his mother had taught him; he was in front of an older person he didn't know, but in that circumstance, he couldn't control the facial muscles that contracted.
He raised his head, with a big smile plastered on his face, and a gleam of gratitude in his eyes.
“Thank you, Okisho-san..." and at the very moment he said those words his stomach growled "...actually, the exam has given me quite an appetite," and I don't like skipping meals, he thought between the lines, "...I gladly accept your offer!"

Walking alongside Okisho, the boy with the poncho headed towards the Okinaga district.

Exit

WC 223
TWC 2633

Claim
26 stat
250 WC for Trasformation Technique
250 WC for Fuinjutsu Breaking at E-Rank
500 WC for Body Flicker
500 WC for Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall at D-Rank
1125 WC for  Earth Release: Underground Projection Fish Technique at C-Rank

Approved

Accepting his offer, the two were on their way towards the Okinaga district. It was quite a bit of ways away, but for what they were going for, Okisho figured it was worth it. The stand offered a foreign delight whoch he now considered his favorite food. It wasn’t really nutritious, especially by his military parent’s standards back home. But, it really served as comfort food. Something to enjoy when all others, be it teammates, family members, or even life itself became unenjoyable. It was called churros, fried pieces of dough dusted with cinnamon. He couldn‘t wait to reach the szsnd and introduce it to Botso. While also listening to the student‘s proböems and seeing if there was anything he could do of course.

On their way there. Strolling over a smsll brick bridge that allow passage over the river. He notices a billboard planted against the wall on the otherside of the bridge. He just simpley noticed it, not in search or questioning it. It was those things you happen to notice out of chance. Regardless, he looks over and sees a bunch of for rent postings. He scans them in passing, and as he did his pace slowed. His face hardened with sense of disbelief.

‘Unbelievable…’, he said in his mind. He kept a cool calm while within the presense of Botso. The for rent posting, majority of them were for listings in the Uchiha District. The pricing was, high. It was almost double for what the average rent cost for a place in the Uchiha district two years ago. Normally everyone there owned their property. The old gen made sure of that, for it allowed family to stay together. To keep the community strong and pass doen traditions. But now, all he saw were corporations, real estate firms listing these properties. Did they own them, or simply acting as a third party? He pursed his lips as he finally passed the board, continuing his way to the Okinaga district. That’s how it started, old parts of the world, rich woth history bought out by giant firms. Offering an obscene amout of money to those who had never seen seven figure checks before. Of course, it’s a two way street. Ultimately it is up to the buyer to accept the deal, but with each purchase, with each offer going through, the price value of the area goes up and up. Eventually the locals can’t afford the area, and they effectively get priced out of their home town. The end result, is another Okinaga district. The very same district thst Okisho himself frequented every now and then. Just what was he going to do? He couldn’t solve the problem alone, it would take more than one person to make an everlasting change.

He needed to take one step at a time. First, he needed to help Botso Uzumaki first with his ordeal as instructed by Sensei Iruk. Afterwards, he would then try to meet up with Team 212. It had been sometime since the group met up. Perhaps take on a few missions here and there. This problem with outside companies buying up property within the village couldn’t solely be an Uchiha problem. His othet teammate, Himari, was a Hyuga. Perhaps her people were going through the same thing. The Hyuga district was just as rich in history as the Uchiha District. As the two made their way to the Okinaga district, he made a mental note to bring this up with his fellow teammates. It was time to bring a stop this outside development and shut this down, now.
—-
Exit
TWC/ 2100 words, 17 stats chakra to max out. And 4 stats to get 8 AP and using 1500 words to upgrade Great Fireball to A rank, and 600 words towards this Phoenix sage fire to B rank. 600/625

Okisho Uchiha wrote:
Exit
TWC/ 2100 words, 17 stats chakra to max out. And 4 stats to get 8 AP and using 1500 words to upgrade Great Fireball to A rank, and 600 words towards this Phoenix sage fire to B rank. 600/625

Approved!

Note: 400 WC used to get 8 AP