Academy Days

Maki Juunan was excited: her only child, Gunshin, was starting the academy today. Gun, as her mother called her, wasn’t nearly as excited as her mother. She was more nervous than excited. Poor Gun wasn’t used to being separated from her mother, but the Academy wasn’t designed for parents to tag along. Gun would have to go on this adventure alone and it was the first time she would have to go on an adventure alone. The butterflies in her stomach were all flapping in full force and the young girl’s stomach was in knots. Maki flitted around, getting together some snacks for Gun to take with her and monologuing to herself about how great the shinobi were and how lucky Gun was to have the opportunity to become one. Gun just stared into her breakfast, her tummy issues preventing her from eating.

When the time came, Maki physically helped Gun get out of her seat and pushed her to the door. The idea of becoming a shinobi wasn't the largest problem in Gun’s mind, it was the social academy setting and Gun having no mother to hide behind. In truth, Gun wasn’t even sure she could hack it as a shinobi… she was sure other kids had learned stuff already but Gun hadn’t the slightest idea of what it took to become a shinobi or what being one entailed.

The two Juunan walked together to the Academy’s front door, Gun had already seen other kids enter and she noted, none of them were accompanied by an adult. Her mother leaned in and gave the young girl a hug, then turned her towards the open door and pushed her in. She turned away and headed to work, a new bar has opened and Maki had gotten hired.

Gun looked down the hall as a few children about her age entered through the same door she had and went by her. Their loud voices and careless laughter grated on her nerves, her hands balling up into little fists. The idea of running away crossed the girl’s mind, the door was just behind her. She could just get away from the noise and the hard work and the people.

Her mother’s smiling face flashed into her mind. Leaving would surely upset her and she’d always worked really hard to keep Gun safe and fed. Gun was finally able to help her mom out and she was grateful for the opportunity. Her resolve to remain there was growing stronger, she was about to begin walking to her assigned classroom.

”Watch out! Coming through!” Roared out of someone’s mouth, causing Gun to turn. It was too late though, a large boy, probably twice Gun’s weight smacked into her. She went backwards, against the wall with a thud. ”Told you to watch out!” The boy remarked, never slowing down as he continued on his way.

Gun’s face green red with rage, but rather than a fight she chose flight and moved towards the door to run away. Her teary eyes and poorly planned actions led her into another collision. This time, she had bumped into a girl even shorter than she was. Instantly, Gun felt bad, but she just wanted to get away from this whole place as quickly as possible.

WC: 811

This was it. Her first day as a shinobi, the first step into becoming something more than a lowly street rat and ensuring she wouldn't have to worry so much about getting her next meal or surviving through the next winter. She knew it would be a far more dangerous life than the one she previously had, but at least this one would have something better waiting for her if she could rise against the odds. She just wished it wouldn't have to be so loud and noisy around here, the other kids were busy talking amongst themselves and excited chatter filled her ears, none of which she cared to listen to and instead she just focused on getting to the school itself, calming her nerves and preparing herself for the upcoming day while also giving any of the other brats a stink eye if they even so much as thought to make a comment on her still fresh scar.

She had a hard time getting used to it herself, she could still feel the unnatural indent in her cheek and the roughness of the scar tissue. Many nights were spent looking and touching at her scar, trying to get used to it yet she even weeks after the injury, she could still feel it pull uncomfortably at her cheeks if she opened her mouth too wide or pressed against it too much. At least it gave others enough of a pause when she glared them down that she could walk by without them getting a word in, she didn't have time to deal with the riff raffs, she would have to put her all into becoming a damn good shinobi if she wanted any chance to catch up to some of the other children who had more time to prepare and train for the life of a shinobi.

Before she could even make into the academy doors, she had to quickly stop out of the way of a large boy barreling his way through the academy, shouting out warnings to those in his ways and Kana only let out a heavy sigh at the sight. She hoped she wouldn't have to deal with that buffoon any time soon, she dreaded to imagine what a horrible partner he might be. Continuing down her path once more, Kana hadn't been prepared to dodge another kid's reckless charge and she was thrown against the wall, a low growl escaping her mouth in frustration. "Watch where you're going!" She demanded of the taller girl with a harsh glare, uncaring of the mist that had gathered in the presumably older girl's eyes. If she felt the need to cry over her first day in school, she could do so alone and away from Kana.

WC: 460

Gun had attempted to turn and move through the doorway all in one movement and because of that, she hadn't seen another girl entering through the same door until it was too late. The two collided and the smaller one was sent against the wall. Gun's eyes got big in shock, she hadn't even bumped into the girl that hard, she thought. She also didn't mean to hurt the girl and so she instantly felt guilty, until the girl opened her mouth.

"Watch where you're going!" Gun was shocked that such a frail girl could have such a heated temperament and harsh glare. Gun stepped back, into the academy, almost as if afraid of the girl. She still felt guilty about knocking her down as she was clearly at fault, but the girl seemed as mad at being there as Gun was nervous. Gun didn't seem to know how to respond to the girl's anger, seemingly frozen in place. It actually reminded her of her mother a little. Gun had never been the target of her mother's harsh glare, but she had witnessed her mother use it on others more than a few times. Being on the receiving end wasn't nearly as fun as seeing her mother use it on others, she now noted.

Shaking her head, as if shaking the confusion out of herself, Gun looked at the girl once more. She attempted to return the harsh glare, but with no prior experience giving such a look, it was quite a failure. She then noticed the girl's scar, her head tilting to the right like, some sort of animal trying to figure out what it is looking at. Realizing that her glare was tilted and likely more comical than harsh, Gun sidestepped through the door, ready to make like a tree and leaf. She didn't know who the girl was, but she imagined she would never see her again so their awkward interaction was moot.

"Ah, Miss Gunshin," a young man said as he put his arm around the girl, guiding her back to the door. "and Miss Kana, two of my new students. It's so nice of you to greet me at the Academy's door." He had taught more than a few shinobi in his day and he'd seen the look in Gun's face as he'd approached her. If unattended, she'd be gone and he didn't know what the two's interaction had been, but he didn't much care really: Sakuragakure was a new ninja settlement, not even able to be called one of the minor villages, so it couldn't afford to be losing recruits before the first class started. "Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time so let's continue our introductions in class."

Gun felt trapped as this man's arm was around her shoulders. She wanted to leave, but his grasp was firm and she couldn't budge. Despite that, she didn't feel like he was trying to hurt her or anything; oddly, she didn't feel threatened by him at all. Gun purposely avoided eye contact with the girl whose name she'd learned was Kana, hoping she would also forget about their shared past.

WC: 526
TWC: 1337

The crybaby seemed almost shocked and confused as she heard Kana's words, she had backed away and seemed unsure what to even do with herself in the face of Kana's anger, at least until she settled on mimicking Kana, mustering up whatever rage and courage she could had resulted in an almost laughably weak glare. Her heart wasn't in it and even if it was, Kana had just seen the girl on the verge of tears, she couldn't take the girl serious and had already written her off as nothing more than a weak coward and the fact she was even allowed in was pissing Kana off. When she had only now seemingly noticed her scar and openly begun to stare at it, that only served to piss her off more and her eyes narrowed as her fist clenched tightly. She didn't think her first day would involve a fight but she couldn't let some crybaby get away with that.

Before the girl could wisely chose to flee or Kana could stupidly strike her, the academy instructor came in the nick of time, saving either of the girls from doing anything reckless and Kana immediately straightened up, smoothing her features and taking on a more stoic expression as she listened to the man. Her eyes only moved only to the now trapped girl, making a mental note to remember the name Gunshin to pay her back eventually. "Of course sir. I'm quite eager to learn after all." She'd reply to the man with a slight curve to her lips, a motion only highlighted by the scarring on the right side of her face. It wouldn't do to insult the man, even if Kana thought the man knew the duo weren't at the door to wait for him, if he was offering them an excuse, she'd grab it with both hands.

She'd follow after the instructor who had chosen to escort the Gunshin to the class, rather if it was to keep her safe from Kana's retribution, or because he could sense her desire to flee, or even a mixture of the two, Kana couldn't stop the spike of jealousy and she only followed with narrowed eyes as the two entered into the class room, ready to begin the first day of class. Her eyes looked over the sea of faces, many of which were paying more attention to her rather than Gunshin, or more specifically most of them were focusing on her scar yet she only met each of their curious gazes with a hardened glare, silently daring one of them to make a comment. How much her glare helped in stopping people from speaking when the instructor was right behind her was lost to her. What wasn't lost to her was the two empty seats side by side and the instructor not so subtly pushing Gunshin ahead to take a seat, forcing Kana to do the same on the right of the taller girl.

WC: 495
TWC: 955

After forcibly guiding Gunshin to an empty seat, the instructor turned to the group. He seemed to be surveying them, not saying anything just yet. Only a few of these kids are going to graduate from the Academy and become genin... most of them have no idea what's in store for them. I almost feel bad, but Sakuragakure doesn't have the luxury of pre-trained students like a lot of the major villages do. We'll have to whip these kids into shape and hopefully find a few diamonds in the rough. The instructor picked up the role sheet and began calling names, students would say here when their names were called.

Gunshin just sat in the chair that the instructor had guided her to. She could almost feel the harsh glares of Kana as she was forced to sit next to her. Gunshin didn't bother to look in her direction, simply staring straight ahead. As the instructor began calling names, Gunshin's skin began to perspire: she'd have to say something when he called her name. She considered just lifting her hand, but it was pretty clear that the instructor was looking down at the role and likely wouldn't notice her gesture. She could clap, but that would just draw more attention from her classmates than saying 'here' would, which sort of defeated the purpose of not saying anything at all. Her mouth was already dry from nervousness and she wasn't even sure she'd be able to talk if she tried.

Her brain was on high alert, waiting for what was likely to be the worst moment of her entire (though admittedly rather short) academy career, when the instructor called her name., but... he didn't. He hadn't called her name or Kana's. He placed the role down next to him, having marked their names off without calling them because he knew they were there already. Relief coursed through Gun's veins. Maybe this academy thing wouldn't be so bad afterall.

One week later...
After a week, Gun had gotten used to going to the building without her mother. She wasn't comfortable being without her mother, but she had grown accustomed to it. She still hadn't spoken more than a few words, but as time went by, she seemed more willing to do so. When they got everyone out of the classroom to evaluate their physical capabilities, Gun had proven herself to be rather speedy. She wasn't the only fast kid in the group, but her speed had pleasantly surprised the instructors as well as Gun herself. She'd never really tried running or playing before, so the games the instructors had them doing had really enlightened Gun. If you were really paying attention, you might have even seen a smile on her face a couple times. Learning that about herself and realizing that she had something special about her gave her a good deal of confidence. It had also given her a small belief that she might actually become a shinobi.

The girl walked into the room and took her seat. They were supposed to learn about their chakra affinities today, which seemed exciting.

WC: 520
TWC: 1857

A full week had come and gone, the days blending by as Kana threw herself into her training and studies, determined to make something of herself and to catch up with the other students. A fact that she had already knew but how far behind was quite a shock to her. She had always thought herself as a quick one, slippery and able to outrun even some of the older street rats, but perhaps that was the problem. She was only outrunning street rats. Most of these kids were training for this since they could run, others at least had the luxury of full meals, shelter and having their needs taken care of and just how different she was had struck her when even the crybaby had proven herself superior when it came time for everyone to show off their physical capabilities. Strength was a no brainer, Kana had been one of the weakest in the school, maybe even the weakest if it came down to just merely strength but what she had prided herself on, her speed, was nothing compared to Gunshin, she had must've been one of the fastest kids in the school, keeping up with some of those who had spent most of their life training.

That fact has only reignited her distaste of the crybaby. The instructor had taken a liking to her since the start, she was taller, bigger and probably even had loving parents yet she was so weak willed, so quiet and meek, she could probably defeat Kana easily yet she shied away when the two locked eyes. Kana didn't know why, she couldn't understand it, Gunshin had everything and yet acted like she had nothing. Worse was the fact that Kana hadn't been able to figure out where Gunshin goes after the academy, she had tried once or twice but always lost track of the older girl and thus she couldn't act on her rage but at least she could use that rage against the training dummies, even if they lacked the same feeling of hitting another person.

It was only thanks to venting her rage that morning on some training dummies that Kana didn't bother glaring at the taller girl as she made her way to her seat, instead she watched as the other kids also began to take their seats, some of them talking excitedly about what their chakra affinity might be, something even Kana had to admit she was curious to discover what hers might be. Between the five, she thought she might like to have earth the most, the solid defensive options would make up for her smaller frame although she could probably make do with any of the other elements except for water. She would never admit it to anyone but she hated water with a passion, for too many days it had left her wet and cold, alongside her belongings and combine it with the inability to swim, she could do without any large volume of water. The excited chatter had died out as the instructor entered the classroom, bringing everyone into a silence as nearly everyone, Kana included, sat upright, ready to listen and learn.

WC: 530
TWC: 1,485

Gun had purposely kept her gaze downward as she entered the room, hoping to miss any eye contact Kana might be attempting to make with her. She felt like the girl hated her, so she'd purposely tried avoiding any sort of conflict with the smaller female. Gun knew their initial meeting hadn't been ideal, but, besides some harsh glares, neither had done anything that couldn't be forgiven. At least, that's how Gun felt about their relationship. Gun almost felt like Kana hated her more after their physical evaluations: it had been obvious that Gun was the superior of the two when it came to both speed and strength. Despite finally gaining some small belief that she actually had some potential as a shinobi, Gun felt sure that Kana would definitely become a good kunoichi: her determination was evident. Sometimes, people are much more capable of seeing the potential of others than their own.

The instructor walked in, a little grin on his face. "So I may have misled you all yesterday." He started, leaning against his desk as he quickly scanned the room to see if anyone was absent. "I said we were going to learn about your chakra affinity today, which is very true. We will learn about the five main affinities and you, more than likely, have one of those!" He let his words sink in and he could see the excitement drain from most of the student's faces. "We will do the test later in the year, when everyone is capable of it, but not today. Sorry for the confusion."

The instructor turned around and shuffled some papers as he began getting ready to begin the lecture. There might be two students that could infuse the paper with chakra at this point and they've received training from their clans, so we'll just keep practicing and test later. I really got ahead of myself with that statement yesterday. But it really does get them excited. About twelve minutes later, the instructor grabbed his bottle of water and took a sip. He'd informed his students about the five main affinities and how they interact with each other. "Don't forget to study, we'll have a quiz on Friday. Now, head to lunch."

Gun turned towards the window as she stood, making sure her eyes couldn't accidentally make contact with Kana. For the briefest of moments, Gun wished she could be more outgoing, because she had noticed that both Kana and herself seemed to lack friends so far. Other kids seemed to get along and were forming groups and enjoying each other, but neither Gun nor Kana had seemed to break the ice in that regard. She understood why... both of them weren't very approachable. Turning her head just a little, Gun saw the coast was clear and headed outside to eat. She found a corner to herself and opened her lunch, watching other kids as they spoke and played.

WC: 489
TWC: 2346

Kana could actually see some of the light in her classmates' eyes fade away as the instructor apologized for misleading the class with the promise of figuring out their chakra affinities and Kana was no different in that regard but instead of just disappointment, she felt angry at herself and the instructor, the former because she felt she should've been knew how to manifest her chakra by now and the latter because she felt he should've been more than aware of everyone's capabilities by now. Regardless, she kept her stoic façade and remained quiet and still even as the others groaned and sagged in their seats, making their displeasure known. "Now class, a chakra affinity is the natural inclination of your chakra toward one of five elements, meaning that you'll likely have an easier time learning and using said element in any jutsu. These five elements are fire, wind, earth, lightning and water and together these five make up all known elemental jutsu." The instructor would begin to explain the nature of chakra affinity and the possible elements one's chakra may have an affinity, all the while he'd begin to write the kanji for each element onto the board in a circle with arrows pointing toward each element.

"Now each element has strengths and weaknesses against another, on the board is the circle that showcases how each element interacts with one another, for example, fire is stronger against wind but weaker against water. As you may note, there is no arrows connecting fire with earth or lightning, that is because fire doesn't have any noticeable weakness or strength against those two, meaning a fire and lightning jutsu would be considered equal." He'd continue on with his lesson, moving his hands to point to each element as he talks about them and highlighting how each element interacts or doesn't interact, something Kana watched with interest and begun to write into her scroll, eager to store the information away for later. This process continued on, the instructors giving further detail about the elements and how they work exactly, while Kana kept taking notes and listening intently, absorbing whatever information she could for future use until eventually he cleared his throat and dismissed everyone.

Putting away her notes, Kana got up and begun to leave for lunch with the rest of the class. Many of the other kids were talking amongst themselves, some expressing their dislike of the mix up on today's lesson, while others lamented how boring the class was, even a few kids were bragging about how they already knew what affinity they'd have due to their clan having a shared affinity. All pointless noise Kana tuned out as she found herself a nice spot in the sun to sit down and read over her notes and quizzing herself, she needed to make up for her poor physical capabilities somehow and if that meant becoming a bookworm, Kana would be the best damn bookworm Sakuragakure has ever seen. She didn't even notice when Gunshin moved nearby and begun to eat her lunch, at least until Kana's stomach growled at the smell of the taller girl's food. Growling to herself, she steadfast ignored her hunger and kept her focus on the notes, trying to read and ignore both her hunger and the intoxicating smell of the girl's food.

WC: 566
TWC: 2,041

Gun had listened with moderate interest as the instructor explained the various elements. Some of them seemed versatile, others seemed cool, and then there was water which seemed like neither. The idea that some day she could possibly learn how to use elemental jutsu like the ones he was describing was just unfathomable to her still; it was like telling a child who couldn't even crawl that someday they'd be able to outrun arrows. She figured knowing the inherent strengths and weaknesses could be pretty useful if one were capable of wielding such techniques. She wanted to use elements some day, but she wasn't sure if she'd even be able to learn those kinds of ninja things. So far, she hadn't shown any potential in utilizing chakra, though she was quick to acknowledge that she wasn't the only one in the class.

She did enjoy watching others as they interacted. Part of her was impressed with how easily they spoke to one another and part of her was glad that no one was trying to interact with her in that way. She noticed that Kana wasn't actually that far away from her and was only studying her notes alone. Gun had glanced over during the instructor's elemental spiel and noticed how intently she was focusing. The prospective kunoichi was putting her all into becoming a shinobi and Gun was still only partially invested in all of this. Her mother was still excited for her, but Gun was too worried that she would fail to really put all of her energy into the Academy. After another glance towards Kana, Gun realized she was still studying and not eating. They only had so much time to eat and if she didn't get started soon, she might not have time to finish. Of course, Gun didn't want to tell Kana what to do... so she did nothing.

A few minutes later, Gun headed back to class, realizing that Kana hadn't eaten any lunch. She wondered if the girl wasn't hungry... or if she didn't have anything to eat. Both possibilities made Gun sad, cause she really enjoyed eating.

WC: 355
TWC: 2701

The minutes had dragged by, Kana doing her best to ignore her hunger and continue to keep studying but with the smell of food nearby, her focus had been shot. She could only grit her teeth in frustration and annoyance as Gunshin ate away like there was nothing wrong, gorging herself while those lesser than her tried desperately to catch up. Thankfully the allotted time for lunch came and went with Kana's will and pride winning out against the act of asking for food or attacking Gunshin to take the food for herself. It was still far too early for Kana to risk upsetting the staff, a sentiment shared by most of the class as most bullying was done out of sight and after classes. She wasn't going to be the first to rock the boat, especially for some food. Packing up her notes, she followed after Gunshin as the taller girl returned to classes, all the while Kana couldn't stop the glare at the girl's back, she knew she would one day after get her back for all of this. First the staring, then her meekness and now practically taunting Kana with the smell of her food.

One month later...

It has been little over a month since classes had started and while Kana still struggled on the physical aspect of being a kunoichi, she had been improving but she was only working to narrow the gap that existed between her and the others. A tedious and slow progress but it was still progress, she could lift more, run longer and faster, she just wasn't anywhere near enough to go toe to toe with the others, something she hated, especially during the sparring sessions that the class would sometimes have in an effort to teach them all how to do hand to hand. During the first bouts, Kana had the edge, she had learned to fight bigger kids than the others, she had experience and was prepared to do anything to score a win. Something that earned her a reputation and made many fear her during the earlier days but as classes progressed and the others began to learn how to fight, she couldn't rely on her shock and awe tactics, pulling a girl's hair no longer granted her easy control over the fight, instead they'd bash their head into her nose and force her to let go. A stomp on the toes was met with a punch in the face, a scratch was repaid with an elbow to the stomach, the little bag of tricks Kana relied on were dismantled swiftly in the face of actual fighting styles and techniques.

That wasn't to say she wasn't feared still, she made sure those bigger and stronger were hurt taking her down and that resulted in people just preferring to not fight her in general. She had combined what they were taught with what she had learned to inflict as much pain as possible, something that the instructor wasn't the biggest fan of but it wasn't like he'd disapprove of someone fighting to the best they can and as long as she used what he was teaching her and not outright injuring the others, it seemed he was fine with her more brutal fighting style. She had only tried to break someone's bone once and he was on her before she could even realize what had happened, let alone go through with breaking that kid's ankle. A reprimand saw that Kana toned down her savagery in fights and while almost every fight saw her enemy bleeding from scratches at best or a busted nose at worst, it never was anything that would see her sparring partner incapable of fighting for more than a day or two.

It was for all that reason that Kana stood confidently before her peers at a sparring matt, ready to fight even some of the strongest kids to prove to everyone that she would become a kunoichi even if she had to claw her way to the top. Literally if necessary. Her eyes scanned over the crowds as the instructor did the same in front of her, Kana was trying to guess her opponent while the instructor looked for a new person for Kana to fight against. Only a few kids met her eyes, some eager for revenge, others for the challenge. She liked those ones the most.

WC: 733
TWC: 2,774