Nyūgakushiki

Missions:

As someone used to silence and their own company the first day of the academy was the most jarring of experiences. The outside yard was bustling with activity. The mish-mash of different humans who had gathered was startling. All manner of children, guided by their parents happy to get rid of them; old-timers who were wanting a change of occupation, or perhaps going through a mid-life crisis; and all of those in between had congregated at the doorstep of the shinobi academy of Konoha. It was likely that the rest of the day would be one filled with much introduction and fanfare. Excitement filled the air as the shinobi hopefuls waited for the first day to officially begin.

For the child this situation was one they had not experienced before. Having sought to avoid such awkward interactions they had long since slipped into the academy building and now found themselves wandering the halls. Despite the business of the day the halls were quiet, almost shockingly so. The sound of their footsteps drummed off the walls, echoing down the corridor as they ventured forth into the unknown that was the academy building. It would take them some time before they arrived at their destination. The class in which they would spend the time learning...something.

They paused for a moment at the door, a slight hesitation about them. Still they did not understand why they were here. Perhaps with time the child would come to understand. For now they slid the door open and entered the empty class. Moving toward the nearest seat they would sit and wait.

[266]

"A-a-a-re y-you s-s-sure....I- have t-to go?"  The quiet voice would say nearly completely drowned out by the chorus of a hundred other voices.  Gray eyes looked up at his parents, already wet with tears and red with anxiety.  

"You will be fine.."  The woman said smoothing Xuexing's hair that had stuck up in all directions as though he had stuck a finger in an outlet.  "Go on now.."  She would say with a little push to send the him on his way.

Turning and sniffling slightly he would pull up his striped scarf to cover his mouth.  Pulling down a knit cap he wore on his head, his face was almost completely obscured to anyone looking at him.  To complete his ensemble he wore a large and bulky gray sweater with a second jacket over top, looking......well a little ridiculous.  All around him kids and adults smiled and laughed as though they all were in on the same inside joke.  

Wanting to avoid all this, the Yuki lad saw a small figure enter the school and decided to follow.  He stayed back several paces though didn't actively hide himself.  He just assumed this other kid knew where to go and felt confident he wouldn't talk to him.  Eventually they would enter the silence of a school not yet filled and find as classroom.  With a few more sniffled and a gloved hand wiping at his eye, he would enter the classroom a few moments after the child, opting to sit in a seat near the back.  

It would only be a few moments of blissful silence before others began to flood in, followed by a teacher.....

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The peace had been disturbed, the calming silence ended by the sniffling of another person in the room. The child paid it no real mind. Their own gaze was set on the window looking out upon the yard a floor below. Soon the noise would grow louder as the rest of the new students were ushered into the room followed by their new instructor. The child little mind to what was happening for now. Introductions by the teacher, a brief speech about it being the start of a new adventure for them or something like that was said. They listened to the words though the meaning was mostly lost on them. Why were they here? They still weren't sure of the answer. Dull grey eyes continued to gaze out into the yard below until a voice caught their attention. "Alright next up we have...Saku, what sort of ninja do you wish to be?" The voice of the teacher called out to them. They blinked, almost shocked out of the day-dream like stupor they had found themselves in. The child stared at the woman who stood at the forefront of the classroom. Their expression unreadable, mostly due to the bandage wrappings covering the majority of their face, their head angled to the side as they seemed to think it over. The child did not know so they shrugged. "Right, well we'll work on that I suppose." The teacher said with a slight smile, seemingly used to having to deal with all manners of strange students.

The child's gaze returned to the window as the rest of the introductions were done.

[535]

The child made no sound and just shrugged at the teacher at the rather simple question....but was it a simple question....what if it was the kind to test the students...like a pop quiz....what if it was how they ranked them....or if it determined if they could pass.......what if looking cool was the only way to move on with the test....what if this determined the rest of his life and everything he'd ever be able to do....Xuexing felt a sweat breakout over his forehead as all these thoughts raced through his mind.  Some students gave answers like wanting to be Hokage, or become a specialist at various types of jutsu....but the child at the front had said nothing and yet had seemingly been given a pass.  Where there plants within the classroom to throw them off on what the correct answer...Surely that must be it, some of these weren't even students but likely full fledged shinobi just here to laugh at them, maybe that's why the one wore bandages...he probably had a mustache and gold tooth and was actually 47 years and 4 months old....

Damn damn damn.... no thats cussing... shoot shoot shoot....the Yuki thought the room starting to spin as he tried to catch his breath through the scarf....this was too much pressure.  

"And....Xuexing, what kind of ninja would you like to be?"  The teacher asked with a happy expression that most certainly belayed a killing intent set to rip his academic career to shreds.  

Snapping to his feet to answer, he took a deep breath.....and promptly passed out from hyperventilating.  What a first day that was....

------- The Next Day ------

Shuffling with the crowd of students they found themselves at the advanced field training facility.  It was to be a simple field trip so they might see the other facilities that would lead to their education.  Within the classroom of the facility was a chalkboard with the foundations of handseals for two of the classic academy jutsu, to whit h Xuexing had already made three separate pages of notes so as not to loose any one of them and fall further behind.  

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The facility was yet a new place for the child. They followed behind the majority of the other students as they were led through the facility. Their eyes wandered about, catching bits of other shinobi going about their own training. The child paused to watch for a moment, confused to what they were doing. They watched for several seconds as they moved their hands in a variety of ways, an exact copy of themselves appearing after they were done. It was strange. The child was unsure of what had happened, but had no time to think on it as the field trip continued onward. The trip brought them to another class room with a setup which included a variety of hand seals listed on a board. The child recognised some of them as the same as what the shinobi outside had been doing. A strange feeling washed over them, some sort of anticipation for what was coming.

The class was told they were to practice the basic jutsu. The instructor went through the motions, demonstrating the jutsu that the child had seen performed from afar earlier. They were told to separate and practice on their own before performing a demonstration after a certain amount of time. The child had wandered over to the far corner of the room by this point. Their attention had been drawn to the window that looked out toward the training grounds. As they watched the people outside they found themselves going through the motions of what the instructor had said. Given their attire it would be hard to notice, the white cloak draped over them obscuring most of their movement. To the outside looker it would seem as if they weren't doing anything barring looking outside.

The end of the trip marked the demonstrations. Many tried, some succeeded, most failed. The child's turn arrived. They stood their, attention on them for several seconds. Did their hands move? The child themself was not sure of if they did anything or not. All they knew was that nothing happened. After a time had passed in silence they turned to look at the instructor. The instructor sighed and called up the next student as the child moved back to the window.

It would be several weeks later that the class was brought once more on a trip. They were brought to a place known as the Inferno Arena, an area in which they were informed they were going to had their first taste at sparring. The child was unsure of what this meant, however after seeing several pairs go through with it in front of the class they ended up coming to some understanding of what to do. They would end up paired with some child whom they did not know, and the spar began from there.

[1004]

Watching as other students would attempt to perform the clone jutsu he felt a sense of nervous anticipation forming. One after another students presented themselves at the front and would move through the handseals. His eyes watched each one, reviewing the seals, how they held their hands at their side….how fast they moved their fingers. He felt his breath start to quicken, no longer muffled by his scarf….it had been confiscated by the teacher on their third day.

Finally, it was his turn, and so he went to the front of the line. Taking in a deep breath, finally prepared to show what he was capable of, he started the seals. Slowly and then quicker with the last couple to try and prove he could keep up….once completed he felt a surge from somewhere in his stomach as a puff of smoke appeared next to him. When it finally cleared away he could see himself lying on the floor….naked…..face flushing pink he jumped on top of the creation to hide it from view only for the clone to vanish as he did causing him to faceplant onto the hard floor. Being forced to go to a medic and stifle his bleeding nose he missed the remainder of the lesson.


Within the inferno arena Xuexing would watch the instructor pair each of them up. Their mission was to perform the basics of taijutsu with each other. They were quite clear they weren’t supposed to actively try and hurt one another, but that they should put each other through their paces.

He was finally paired up with a small child that seemed to have bandages all over his face. Nervous if the other student already had injuries he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to do this. Finally someone would yell to start, and the Yuki would attempt to take a stance. He’d slowly and awkwardly shuffle closer before bursting out into a run. His intention had been to close the gap and land a simple strike…reality though was much different. As he approached he stepped on a shoelace from his boot causing him to stumble and if the child di not move, he would surely crash into him with very little bodily control.

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Tension filled the air as the child stared at their partner. It was a young boy that seemed to be wrapped up in all manner of clothing. They were strange, it seemed like they were as confused about all of this as the child was. The call was made for the spar to begin...and nothing happened. The opponent was reluctant to move at first and the child was content to simply stand still and watch. Then, finally the opponent would make their move with a run forward. The child's body tensed up for reasons unknown to them. They felt their heart rate pick up as the boy approached. The sound of the rapid footsteps drummed in their ear along with the child's own heartbeat. Then it all came to a sudden screeching halt when the boy seemingly tripped. The child blinked, all sense of urgency and alertness leaving them in an instant. Their body relaxed, and then the boy crashed into him. The two ended up in a heap sprawled out on the floor.

The fight had ended in a single decisive move. The verdict, draw.

It would be several more weeks of lessons and similar activities before the class was brought in for something called a mid-term exam. The child sat in their usual spot, though for once their gaze was not directed out of the window. The instructor had handed them a sheet of paper informing them that it was very important that they at least try to answer the questions. So that is why the child now stared at the sheet of paper. A jumble of markings littered the paper most of which the child was entirely unsure about. The exam had been given an hour to complete the paper...that had started about half an hour ago. Finally moving their gaze from the paper they stared at the instructor. They were pointedly ignored. Finally their gaze turned to look out the window once more. It was a dark day, grey clouds coupled with heavy rain that battered down on the village. A sigh escaped the child's lip, barely audible over the sound of the rain and test taking, as they picked up the pencil that lay on their desk and they began to scribble away.

They would eventually pass the test, the instructor noting the 'unorthodox' method of doodling the answers to be just legible enough to merit a passing grade.

[1409]

Weeks had gone by since the fiasco of the spar at the inferno arena. He had ended up needing a few stitches, only for it to leave a small scar just hidden by his hairline. He wondered if it made him more distinguished, or more like a battle hardened shinobi now that he wore his first war wounds. These thoughts made him smile, as surely he was actually on the right track. Sure, there had been doubts but now that he was battle hardened, there was nothing that was going to stop him. With this new jolt of confidence, he made his way to the academy and was only jump scared by one dog and two cats….a new record.

Sitting at his desk he could feel the tension in the air, but he had no idea why….that was until the teacher started to pass out the test. O no o no o no…..how could I have forgotten….he thought to himself immediately beginning to perspire beneath the layers and layers of clothes. Despite the temperature and the wardrobe, he felt a chill run through him. Rubbing his face with mitten’d hands he would turn the paper over and look at the first question.

Name……..do they want our first name, or our whole name…..ten minutes would go by before he was able to answer the questions. With a sigh of relief he felt the test wouldn’t be so bad after all. Next question….what is ninjutsu…..its a word obviously. He’d scoff a little bit before penning that down, only to erase it a moment later. No no that was too simple, they wanted the details. For the next twenty-five minutes he wrote out the complexities of ninjutsu including a detailed paragraph on hand seals, chakra natures, and an anecdote the teacher had said on the third day of class.

Looking up at the clock however panic had started to sink in as he had only just started the test. The rest was a fevered blur, and how he had passed he would never know. At least tomorrows lesson was just history, history should be easy right? It already happened so how bad could it really be

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Another day, another lesson spent staring out of the window. The instructor's voice carried words that held little meaning to the child. They caught things about how their were more villages out there, both similar to this one yet also vastly different. There was a sheet of paper tacked to the chalkboard with a strange drawing on it. The instructor kept pointing to it as they spoke, apparently indicating that this was where other places were located. For the child this was their first exposure to what the world was supposed to look like. It looked small and made little sense to them. At some point or another they zoned out of the lecture.

"Saku, who is the current Hokage?" The instructor's voice cut through the air sharply and awoke the child from their eye-open slumber. The child blinked and looked around to orientate. There was a pause, another non-answer left hanging in the air. Though after a moment they pointed out the window, finger aimed at the Hokage Rock that sat on the horizon. The instructor's exasperated sigh gave way to them segwaying into an explanation of the recent history of the village.

The child wondered just why they remained here. What was the end goal exactly? The answer yet eluded them weeks into this strange journey they had undertaken. How much longer would they remain here? They were unsure, but the answer would come in several weeks time when the last day before their final examination was due.

[1659]

History….yes it was so easy…..people had already made notes about it that’s what the scrolls where about.  Black and white and subjective yes sir, no one could change what had happened.  It was this confident knowledge that he smiled.  The historians had done the work and surely there was no bias within their words, otherwise the publishers surely wouldn’t allow them to be produced.  The lesson would continue without much hoopla other than the bandaged kind not knowing another answer.  With a confidence he had never felt he raised his hand, and then blurted out an answer, “Koroshi Uchiha!”  He’d say before turning red.  The room was silent and the teacher looked increasingly like they would rather run combat missions than continue the fruitless efforts of educating young minds.  What’s worse, when his ignorance was shut down and he went to take a drink of water, the liquid seemed to move too slowly from the end, leaving him now embarrassed and thirsty. 
 
Still, the weeks would continue to roll on by, and their final day before the genin exam would approach.  The teacher would announce this with glee as though she was happy to see their class finally come and go.  The teacher would pass out cards, that would indicate what turn they had to go and present to the class.  Looking at his he had number 13, a lucky number surely.  Reviewing his notes he half tuned out the other students as they would perform the basic jutsu and recount what they hoped to accomplish as a shinobi.  Reviewing the topographical map of the land of fire that he had drawn, he just knew it was necessary for something.  After all the teacher once said there are many bumps on the road to becoming a ninja…..maybe topography was a key somehow….

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