Academy Life and Friends

I woke up this morning with a peace I had previously forgotten existed.

You see, in an orphanage, there was really no room for privacy, no forget about privacy, there was no room at all. Tens of kids all stuffed into one room, all of them sharing bunk beds, was not the most comfortable experience in the world. I had forgotten what it felt like to have a big bed all to myself, waking at my own leisure, stretching every which way I wanted. As you can see, getting my own apartment was totally worth it.

After basking in the morning ambiance and listening to the birds chirping, I eventually got up and began my morning routine. I stretched my body to move my stiff muscles, then proceeded to work out, shower, and practice my chakra control. Since I want to continue with both meditation and chakra control, I decided to split my mornings into chakra control and nights for meditation. That way, I would continue sharpening my mind while honing my skills.

Recently my chakra control training had been showing some results, although not much, I was gradually becoming more accustomed to my chakra. The more used to my chakra I got, the faster it pumped throughout my body and listened to my commands, which was pretty important for a ninja. After all, how fast I could make my chakra move dictated how fast I could unleash a technique, and it also affected how many hand seals I needed to execute. The more naturally I could command my chakra after all, the less I needed hand signs that were meant to assist me in doing that.

I was also making steady progress in my body training, and because I wasn't really experiencing any bottlenecks there, it was gradually catching up to my mind. The amount of yang chakra now makes up about 35% of my total energy, with yin making up the rest of the 65%. My chakra reserves were getting larger too, I could feel, but I didn't exactly know how much I had. I felt that it was a pretty substantial amount, but without comparing it to anyone else I could only make inferences and guesses.

After I ate breakfast, four boiled eggs with instant ramen, I started heading out to the academy. I didn't know what room Naruto was in, or what class he was in for that matter, but I knew I would eventually see him.

After making it to my class, I noticed I was the first one there, and thus I chose the protagonist's seat all the way to the end of the classroom next to the window. Everybody knew that in the average anime, the seat next to the window was the seat of the protagonist because it let them glimpse the outside view while daydreaming. It wasn't really an important matter, but I felt it would have been a shame if I didn't choose this seat when I could.

Students eventually began flocking into the classroom in chunks and taking up seats in the classroom. Everyone was talking amongst themselves, only sitting next to people they know or liked. Of course, since I knew none of them, I was pretty excluded from the conversations. Not purposefully, but it was still happening. Honestly, I didn't mind this development at all, because some of these kids were pretty annoying and I would rather sit in peace than be pestered all the time.

The time eventually came for the start of class, and when the instructor walked in everybody scurried back to their seats. The instructor was a man of large stature, with dark brown hair and a Konoha ninja bandana on his head. He had a goatee and a smile on him as he walked in and looked at us seated. He seemed pleased with this development, and he started writing his name on the board,

"Daikoku Funeno, but you guys can call me Funeno sensei. I'll be your teacher for the foreseeable future, so let's all do our best together!"

He seemed like a jovial guy, and his features accentuated that impression even more.

"The first year of learning will be dedicated to mostly civilian subjects, except for some important knowledge about chakra and history. As the years go on, if you choose to stay on this path, the subjects will get increasingly more related to ninjas, and if you pass the graduation test you will officially become a genin. Of course, you can always opt to retire from a genin and become a regular civilian, or even focus more on civilian subjects during school. The Hokage has granted a lot of freedom on what you can be here, so don't hesitate to switch if you don't believe the ninja path isn't for you, after all, it is one filled with death and danger."

It was much more generous than I thought, considering that this is a ninja village, at the end of the day. It made sense though, the village still needed ordinary civilians to make it a prosperous economy, and you also needed people to produce ordinary goods and weapons. If you made every kid become a ninja, there would be no one taking care of "civilian" matters.

"If no one has any questions, then we will begin our first lesson about the history of Konoha Village"

As you can imagine, the lesson got increasingly boring. There was nothing interactive, nothing to do, there was no conversing among classmates, you just sat and listened to the lecture and wrote notes. It reminded me of my old college courses, just endless notes and lectures, and tests. No wonder Naruto wasn't capable of sitting still in these lessons, I found myself getting squirmish too. It was a good thing I was in the protagonist's seat and had a view to look at.

As I gazed upon the dancing trees, I couldn't help but think about the time I was wasting right now. I mean, hours every day just learning common knowledge is not exactly helpful to my strength, but somewhat important to my mental strength. Re-learning common information, on the other hand, was just a waste of time.

I contemplated on what I could do, I had to attend the classes after all. As I fiddled with my clothes, I discovered a stray leaf that made its way through the window, carried by the wind. I quickly caught it and hid it inside my sleeve, ecstatic that what I was looking for appeared right before me. While I could spend the time meditating, it would be pretty common to think I was sleeping with my eyes closed. Chakra control training, on the other hand, was pretty easy to cover up by any piece of clothing. It seems that I'd have to carry a leaf on me at all times now.

Time quickly passed, and the end of the school day quickly arrived. I bade Funeno sensei farewell and made my way out of the academy. I saw Shikamaru with his head hanging low and Choji eating a snack on the way out. I met up with them and waved my hand

"Hey guys."

In that instant, it was as though time itself had stopped. In what I consider to be the greatest struggle in the entire history of the shinobi world, Shikamaru raised his hand, registered who it was, waved at me, and allowed his head to drop back down.

Choji, on the other hand, was in a much better state and said,

"Hey, Aizen! omnomnomnom, sorry about Shikamaru, he's pretty tired from today's lessons"

I chuckled and responded,

"I can see. What are you guys up to?"

It was Choji responding again, and he said

"Cloud watching. Do you want to come join us?"

Cloud watching huh? I knew that it was an activity both of them frequently did, bonding with each other over it, and it seemed that this invitation was pretty special. I was in a pretty lazy mood too, so I nodded my head and agreed. We started making our way over to what Choji said is Shikamaru's favorite spot, and we slowly made our way to the top of a random building. Along the way, it was mostly me and Choji talking, with Shikamaru giving the occasional grunts of acknowledgment.

When we arrived at the benches, Shikamaru plopped down right in the middle and lied down. He gave a huge sigh of relief and said

"Hahhh, Class is so troublesome. Isn't it better to just stay out here and watch the clouds?"

As I plopped down to his left and similarly allowed myself to lie down, I couldn't help but smile and agree. With the hue of the resting sun appearing, the puffy white clouds slowly passing, and the tender caress of a breeze making its way by, it was the most comfortable I have been since my arrival in the world. Eventually, all three of us closed our eyes and basked in the atmosphere, gently and inconspicuously falling into a deep sleep.

I woke up with a jolt and quickly stood up, assuming a fighting position. I was in a deep sleep, but I felt as if someone was staring right at me, which alerted me. With a racing heart, I took in my surroundings and identified the figure staring at me. It was Shikaku, Shikamaru's father, who was also awake now and staring at the both of us. The only one who remained asleep was Choji, who was snoring and enjoying his sleep.

...

Shikaku looked at the three kids sleeping in front of him and smiled. He welcomed the sight of this peace and tranquility, after all, he had risked his life to preserve these moments. When he gazed on the body of Sosuke, he was astonished to see the body quickly rise from its sleep and take a loose fighting position. It wasn't a well-put-together position, but it was a somewhat practical one.

'Amazing. He felt me watching him even when he was in a deep sleep! That kid's got some sharp instincts on him'

His son woke up after feeling the commotion, situating himself with a dazed look in his eye.

...

After I recognized who was watching me, I let my guard down and gave a bow to the Nara clan head,

"Greetings, Mr. Nara"

The man in question chuckled and said,

"Hello to you as well Aizen. I apologize for waking you" as he said this he walked next to Shikamaru and plopped his hand on his head, "but I came to fetch these two upon my wife's orders"

After he heard that his mom was involved, Shikamaru stood straight up, all signs of tiredness washing away from his face, as he fearfully exclaimed

"Mom made you come here!?"

I didn't understand the family dynamic, but Shikamaru seemed quite apprehensive of his mother. At this point, Choji awakened too, and sat himself up saying,

"Oh, hey Mr. Nara! What are you doing here?"

"Heh, hello Choji. I'm here to take you home. Your dad's at our house remember? Ino-Shika-Cho was planning on celebrating your first day of the academy"

At this point, both Choji and Shikamaru seemed to get paler, especially Shikamaru, who seemed paler than me on my first day here.

"Sighhhhhhh, how troublesome. This is it, Aizen. It was good knowing you, but I'm afraid my days end here. When I get home my mom is going to kill me"

Smiling at his son's misfortune, Shikaku turned to me and asked

"How about you Sosuke? Do you want to join us for a celebration?"

Shikamaru seemed to have come back from the dead, instantly turning his head towards me, giving me a silent plea to say yes the likes of which I've never seen before. He was an open book, I can practically hear what he's thinking right now. If I come too, his mom wouldn't be able to punish him right away, since she would have a guest over.

With an evil grin, I wink at Shikamaru and turn to Shikaku to say...