Untitled
Chapter Five
I woke up early the next morning to a gentle shaking.
"Chiaki-chan. It's time to wake up."
I mumbled something incomprehensible:something along the lines of "why the hell did you wake me up so early?"
"Because you're coming to the academy with me today!"
Forcing him to leave, I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for the morning before traipsing downstairs to get breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was an array of cereals that vaguely resembled some of the food that we had at "home". Not that I ever truly considered that place my home.
I poured myself a bowl of cereal and began to munch it slowly, pondering what today would have in store for me, when my silent reverie was interrupted by Minato.
"No offence, but you kind of need to hurry up. I should have left the house five minutes ago!" Minato grinned surreptitiously, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Nodding slightly, I wolfed down the rest of my breakfast and followed him out of the house. He was running at what appeared to be his top speed, but I was easily keeping up with him. That's strange I thought to myself, I had never been any good at running or athletics before. I pushed the thought out of my mind as we arrived at an official- looking building. Minato took my hand gently in his, and led me through the winding corridors until we reached a relatively large classroom. Taking a seat at the back, Minato introduced me to the class teacher, called Takeshi-sensei, and explained that I had the Hokage's permission to be there. Takeshi-sensei looked up and smiled softly at me: he seemed nice, and I could tell that I was going to like him already. Luckily for me, he didn't bother to make me introduce myself to the other students, I was convinced that I would be ripped to shreds by these children if they heard my fumbling attempts to speak.
Minato took a seat in the middle row of the classroom and gestured wildly with his left hand, practically begging me to sit next to him. I smiled softly at his enthusiasm, but also his stupidity: where else was I going to sit, I had no other friends.
As I took my seat and the class settled down, lessons began. I spent all of the morning avidly writing notes on pieces of paper provided by well-wishing class mates, as we learned about a fascinating type of spiritual and physical energy called chakra. We were taught all the theory about how it works, and how to focus it, and what it feels like in the body, when I came to a sudden realisation: I could feel this energy thrumming through my body, exactly how they had described it in all the textbooks.
The thought shocked me. Back where I came from,there was nothing even remotely similar to this chakra they were describing. Surely I should not have had any chakra at all, considering my origins?
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even realise that Takeshi-sensei had called an end to lessons for the morning, and that it was now lunchtime. I was startled out of my reverie by a concerned Minato shaking my shoulders: he had clearly seen my vacant expression and was wondering what the hell was going on in my mind.
"Are you okay, Chiaki-chan? You're not going to faint again are you?"
Blushing slightly at his close proximity, I shook my head gently before following him into the playground, where all the other kids were spending their lunchtime.
Before I knew it, we were back inside, seated at our desks. Minato's stomach was grumbling angrily: he had forgotten to bring lunch for both of us. I giggled at how silly he was. I had absolutely no problem with skipping meals, after all, my parents rarely fed me.
The afternoon's lessons consisted of Taijutsu theory, which to be honest,I found completely and utterly dull. I was just beginning to drift off when a man in a cat mask appeared in front of me,crouched on my desk.
"Sorry to interrupt your lesson miss, but the Hokage requests your presence in his office."
He took my hand in his, and with a poof of smoke, I found myself back in the familiar surroundings of the Hokage's office.
"Chiaki-chan. It's time to wake up."
I mumbled something incomprehensible:something along the lines of "why the hell did you wake me up so early?"
"Because you're coming to the academy with me today!"
Forcing him to leave, I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for the morning before traipsing downstairs to get breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was an array of cereals that vaguely resembled some of the food that we had at "home". Not that I ever truly considered that place my home.
I poured myself a bowl of cereal and began to munch it slowly, pondering what today would have in store for me, when my silent reverie was interrupted by Minato.
"No offence, but you kind of need to hurry up. I should have left the house five minutes ago!" Minato grinned surreptitiously, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Nodding slightly, I wolfed down the rest of my breakfast and followed him out of the house. He was running at what appeared to be his top speed, but I was easily keeping up with him. That's strange I thought to myself, I had never been any good at running or athletics before. I pushed the thought out of my mind as we arrived at an official- looking building. Minato took my hand gently in his, and led me through the winding corridors until we reached a relatively large classroom. Taking a seat at the back, Minato introduced me to the class teacher, called Takeshi-sensei, and explained that I had the Hokage's permission to be there. Takeshi-sensei looked up and smiled softly at me: he seemed nice, and I could tell that I was going to like him already. Luckily for me, he didn't bother to make me introduce myself to the other students, I was convinced that I would be ripped to shreds by these children if they heard my fumbling attempts to speak.
Minato took a seat in the middle row of the classroom and gestured wildly with his left hand, practically begging me to sit next to him. I smiled softly at his enthusiasm, but also his stupidity: where else was I going to sit, I had no other friends.
As I took my seat and the class settled down, lessons began. I spent all of the morning avidly writing notes on pieces of paper provided by well-wishing class mates, as we learned about a fascinating type of spiritual and physical energy called chakra. We were taught all the theory about how it works, and how to focus it, and what it feels like in the body, when I came to a sudden realisation: I could feel this energy thrumming through my body, exactly how they had described it in all the textbooks.
The thought shocked me. Back where I came from,there was nothing even remotely similar to this chakra they were describing. Surely I should not have had any chakra at all, considering my origins?
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't even realise that Takeshi-sensei had called an end to lessons for the morning, and that it was now lunchtime. I was startled out of my reverie by a concerned Minato shaking my shoulders: he had clearly seen my vacant expression and was wondering what the hell was going on in my mind.
"Are you okay, Chiaki-chan? You're not going to faint again are you?"
Blushing slightly at his close proximity, I shook my head gently before following him into the playground, where all the other kids were spending their lunchtime.
Before I knew it, we were back inside, seated at our desks. Minato's stomach was grumbling angrily: he had forgotten to bring lunch for both of us. I giggled at how silly he was. I had absolutely no problem with skipping meals, after all, my parents rarely fed me.
The afternoon's lessons consisted of Taijutsu theory, which to be honest,I found completely and utterly dull. I was just beginning to drift off when a man in a cat mask appeared in front of me,crouched on my desk.
"Sorry to interrupt your lesson miss, but the Hokage requests your presence in his office."
He took my hand in his, and with a poof of smoke, I found myself back in the familiar surroundings of the Hokage's office.