Reading and writing sucks

The day began in Konohagakure no Sato and after another breakfast with rice, I went outside to join the other kids. Seriously, I was getting sick of eating rice at every meal. I had been a Latino guy in my previous life and while I occasionally liked Japanese food, rice only worked for me if paired with beans.

Thankfully, despite my diet and the fact that living with so many children was unbearable, I was doing well. I managed to find a more secluded area around the house and started heading there.

"Hey, Ken-kun!" A child's voice called me and I forced myself to put a smile on my face before turning around.

When I turned, I faced a brown-haired boy with other kids. I had no idea what they wanted, well, I couldn't even remember this boy's name. Was he a friend of this body's original owner?

"Ken-kun, Shota and I are going to play ninja with the others. Want to join?" the boy said. I was ready to decline but paused to think.

The orphanage's grounds weren't very big, and it didn't seem like Miss Kaori or the other matrons would let me head to a training field alone. That meant there wasn't much space for me to move around here. Playing ninja seemed like a decent solution.

"Sure, let's go," I said, smiling as I followed the boys.

Apparently, playing ninja was like an old game of cops and robbers. One group played nukenins, while the other were village shinobi. The shinobi's goal was to capture the nukenins, who had to evade them for a set amount of time. Honestly, it felt like a game of tag.

I spent over an hour playing, running, and dodging the other kids during the game. By the end, I was as exhausted as everyone else but satisfied. Playing like that didn't just let me run—it helped me get used to pursuits that would likely be part of my future as a ninja.

"Even after getting out of the hospital, you're still as good as always, Ken-kun." the brown-haired boy who invited me said.

"You caught me a few times, Hiroto-san." I complimented the boy, trying to catch my breath.

"Miss Kaori made onigiri, are you coming?" another boy asked me.

"I'll join you later, thanks!" I said, taking advantage of their departure.

I waited for the boys to go inside to eat and mentally prepared myself to continue training. I walked slowly to the area I had planned to use, trying to motivate myself.

"Alright… I think I should stick with Saitama's training method. I'm not sure if the running I did earlier even comes close to 10 km, but for now, it'll have to work." I murmured, getting into position for push-ups.

100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, and 100 squats. That was the basic training I planned to do. Normally, a kid wouldn't be able to do even a third of that, but after using my chakra for the first time, I noticed my body felt much stronger and more resilient.

I started with push-ups and quickly realized that even though my body was tougher and stronger, doing 100 push-ups wasn't easy. As I neared the end, my arms felt like they were on fire.

"88… 89… Damn it… 90…"

Time passed, and eventually, I was sprawled on the ground, gasping for air.

"This… ugh… is such a… ugh… crappy… ugh… workout." I spoke between ragged breaths.

And I had to do this every day. Well, if I didn't die from exhaustion, this needs to work. I noticed the sun was high in the sky, and if I didn't go eat soon, Miss Kaori would come looking for me. So, I got up and went inside for lunch.

The orphanage didn't let anyone go hungry, which was good. But the downside was that, besides the small portions, I was utterly sick of rice. It felt like every single meal had to include rice.

Lunch was a bowl of rice, miso soup, and grilled fish. It wasn't much food, but it was enough for most kids. However, after spending the entire morning on physical training, I was starving.

I'd kill a few people in this orphanage for a good chili or even a steak with mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, I had to stick with rice again.

After lunch, we had a basic reading and writing class with Miss Kaori. I could feel her frustration when I couldn't read even one of the characters. Honestly, I had no idea how to read Japanese. I had tried learning a bit of Korean through an app before, but I didn't even get to the point of learning a single word.

Japanese seemed even worse. I knew there were three writing systems, but apparently, this world used a mix of all three. And don't get me started on writing. When Miss Kaori asked me to use a brush to write a symbol—or kanji, or whatever—it came out more crooked than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I ended up spending the entire afternoon practicing reading and writing, so I couldn't go out to train again.

"Yeah… This is going to be harder than I thought," I reflected at the end of the night as I lay in bed.