The Academy Part 1

Vermillion really liked Hinata's declaration because it held strong meaning. Vermillion liked the fact that the little girl had someone she wished to protect. Protecting those you care for was one of Vermillion's own morals, and because of this Vermillion took an instant liking to Hinata.

While the two girls were chatting away with their summons, two people standing in the middle of the field were having very complex emotions. "Hey…. Jiraiya…. Is it just me or do tailed beasts grow on trees now….."

"No… I think you are right. Tailed beasts do seem to be sprouting up like weeds. For now, let's just pretend we saw nothing. I will explain things to Hokage later…." Jiraiya decided to take the stance of see no evil, hear no evil, he shall speak no evil.

"I just hope I do not get stuck with these two when I finally get assigned some genin." Kakashi sighed. "Well, I will be off. I do not see any reason for me to be here any longer. You can handle the hard stuff."

Not waiting for a reply, Kakashi quickly ran away with a brow full of sweat. First, he wanted nothing to do with those little monsters and second if they find out that Hinata stole his girl's love novel he might get beaten to death by Yuki.

Jiraiya watched as Kakashi ran away like he had a fire lit under his butt and shook his head. "Fate may just bring you all together….."

Jiraiya turned his attention back to the girls who were still chatting away with their summons and felt more at ease. "I will be gone for a while this time. I hope nothing bad will happen while I am out. But for now, these girls should be safe with all the skills they have. If they can fight on par with Kakashi, then things should be okay…."

With a warm expression on his face, Jiraiya watched the two girls for a while. The girls then brought their summons over to introduce them to Jiraiya. Only then did the girls send back their summons and head home for the day.

---

Light shined through the crack of the curtain of Yuki's bedroom. She fluttered her eyes a few times before quickly sitting up. "Today is the day!"

Hinata who was at her side groaned as she slowly woke up and rubbed her eyes. "Yuki…?"

"Hinata, it's our first day at the academy, get up and get ready!" Yuki said as she jumped out of bed, almost tripping on her blanket as she ran towards the dresser and began taking out her clothes to wear. As a ninja, she had to wear proper clothing even when going to the academy. While she got her clothes out, she even got clothes for Hinata to wear.

"Academy? Okay…." Hinata crawled out of bed and slowly began getting dressed. She didn't sleep much last night because she kept thinking about that page in the book she had read. She had safely tucked it away in her personal drawer in her nightstand. She knew Yuki would never invade her privacy so she was not worried about her finding it.

After both girls were dressed they had a quick breakfast that Jiraiya had already prepared. But before they left, Jiraiya stopped them. "Yuki, Hinata, you will not see me for a while. How long I will be gone I am not sure. But I will be gone for a year or more. Take care of yourselves and work hard. Look for the Hokage or Kakashi if you need anything."

Yuki looked at the man who she had lived with for a year with mixed emotions before stepping forward and hugging him. "Stay safe, Jiraiya."

"I will." Jiraiya smiled warmly as he patted the small back. He never thought a day would come when he would feel reluctant to leave home to do his research. But he still had more things to deal with.

"Jiraiya, thank you for taking me in." Hinata also stepped forward and hugged him. She felt Jiraiya had been more of a father to her than her own blood related father.

With mixed emotions, the girls saw Jiraiya off before leaving the house themselves and heading to the academy, which was right next door. When the girls arrived, an annoying voice came from behind them.

"Yuki!" It was Naruto. He had gotten to know the girls a bit more after meeting them quite a few times at Ramen Ichiraku. He fully apologized to Yuki for calling her a monster that day and since then, he had been trying to get on her good side. "Ne-ne Yuki, how about we celebrate our first day at the academy with some ramen afterward?"

"Naruto, why are you always trying to get Yuki to follow you out to eat?" Hinata took up position between the two.

"Hinata! Why do you keep interrupting me when I am talking with Yuki? Plus, this has nothing to do with you. I didn't invite you. I only invited Yuki!" Naruto said in a mocking manner.

Yuki held her head, looking at the two. "Why do you two always fight? Naruto, I will not leave Hinata alone no matter what, so even if I were to accept your offer, I will not go without her and second, I have to train after we finish classes. There is never enough time in the day one day is enough to make you rusty."

"Whaaaa!? Why train?" Naruto complained with a dejected look on his face.

"Can you people move? I want to go in." Another young boy's voice floated into Yuki's ears, causing her to turn and look at the young man and frown.

"Do you know the meaning of the word, please? Even if I am blocking your way, you can still use some manners."