kami no shinobi

academy days

koya sensei (academy instructor) pov

".....and the nidaime's armies surrounded the enemy camp from all directions forcing them to retreat to sea,where they engaged in an all out war. the nidaime through careful planning and strategising won the war. this war occurred thirty years into the formation of the village. this was a turning point for the village as..." 

i drawled on and on with my lecture with a bored and uninterested voice. i could see many kids on the verge of falling to sleep. many of them had eyes closely resembling dead fish. i shook my head inwardly. 'pathetic!'

the academy constantly tests the students' capabilities through various means. one such was the history class. honestly remembering these dates of wars won't do them any good in the field. in fact out of all the classes this was probably the most useless one. the wars had already been done and either won or lost. so then why were kids forced to go through theses dates and wars over and over again. the answer is simple. endurance! 

a shinobi's most important quality is endurance. without it they could easily crack under pressure. this just didn't apply to physical pressure but also mental pressure. they had to stay strong under anything the enemy throws at them. they must embrace the virtues of patience and tolerance if they wish to be leaf shinobi. and yet when i looked at  them all i saw were a bunch of brats.

the one in the front bench had his eyes half closed and drool almost touching his textbook. i could literally hear snoring  from the girl in third row. the one in the last bench had his face covered by an open book but i could see from his posture that his head was placed on the bench. even the so called uchiha prodigy looked as if he could burn a hole through me.

*sigh*

the only ones who even came close to having shinobi mentality were the forth benchers. those four were the only ones who seemed to grasp the true meaning of being a shinobi. throughout the class they sat with a stoic expression intently listening to my lectures. they were my pride and joy. they reassured me that the future of konoha was in safe hands.

i smiled and continued with my lectures. suddenly the sound of snoring became louder to the point where it became intolerable. i gritted my teeth and yelled:"AKINA''. she flinched and woke up. i asked with tone barely hiding my boiling rage:"akina dear, would you be so kind as to inform me who were the major participants in the raging sea battle."

she looked at me like a deer caught in deadlights:" umm...sh-shinobi?"

i could only sit there with my mouth hanging wide open. I wanted to tear her a new one, but i refrained from doing so. i mean what even is the point. if she didn't want to learn she will pay the price. i simply massaged the bridge of my nose and turned to the only ones who had some hope. ;"hiroto hyuuga. same question."

.....

.....

.....

he still stared at me intently.

"ummm...hiroto!!?? do you want me to repeat the question."

still staring.

suddenly my eyes widened. i immediately took a book in my hand threw it at him. with a puff and emission of white smoke, he disappeared.

he was a clone.

....

....

....

"SHITTY BRAAAAAAAAAATS!"

Kai pov

"sluuuurp"

as i sucked in the spicy delicacy a shiver went over my spine. i looked around and saw i was alone. what was that about?

" you know kai?" hiroto said to me." when you reccomended this no name restaraunt i was skeptical at first." he then took a long slurp of the noodles in one breath and continued. " but now, by god...ichiraku's IS the food of gods."

i smiled at him. it was nice advertising for restaurant of legends. Gave me a warm cozy feel.

My aburame friend idotu abruptly got up from his seat with a frown(??) on his face.(honestly I can'tget a read on this guy). He then announced:" it happens our nefarious deeds had been exposed. Why. Because our clones have been caught by our instructor."

I squinted my eyes at him:"you know we really need to work on that vocabulary of yours. And about being caught, meh, I don't really care that much. Honestly it was only a matter of time. "

Hana yelled:"yes! Say Goodbye to the boring, waste of time lectures and hello to noodle. Sluuuurp. another bowl teuchi San! "

Tuechi simply smiled and shook his head.

Hana, idotu, hiroto and me..... We were.... Friends I guess. Hana being the overly energetic girl, hiroto being the nice guy( well, who saw that coming from a NEJI!?) and idotu being a more tolerable sasuke. We were The kind of friends who bonded over our mutual despise of history classes. Well that was a weird way to make friends. But hey... The ends justify the means... Right?

'Did that proverb really apply here?' I wondered as I took a long slurp of ramen from my bowl.

As we finished our last bowl I asked my friends:" hey guys. wanna train?? " they all nodded in unison. The pros of having clan kids as best friends.

We immediately disappeared from the restaurant in a flash of black blurs.

Hiroto pov

With speed too fast for naked eye the four of us traversed over the rooftops of konoha. On my way I kept observing my civilian friend Kai. We had almost immediately became friends due to him finding the loophole in the test. Even after becoming friends with him for almost 1 Month I still couldn't figure him out.

He was a civilian born kid and yet he could keep up with us clan kids. In fact he managed to keep up with me, a hyuuga, in a taijutsu only sparring match that we had. In a taijutsu match!!!!

He was by no means a genius. I knew that much. But his work ethic was simply insane. I mean what sane person would do 1000 push-ups a day. In terms of simply physical state he outmatched us all, including our inazuka friend (HOW??!!). His stance and style is still academy style. He's still learning the style. But his speed alone in and itself is terrifying. He was a still a mystery like no other.

He had inexplicable thirst for becoming strong. And this forced us too, to up our skill set, to keep up with him. He forced us too grow strong with him. I smiled at him.

I turned my focus back to running. We zigzagged through treeshades, narrow corners, And rooftops until we reached Our destination. Training ground 24. It was an isolated clearing located in the center of a Forest. The four Of us perched on four trees, each observing the other intently.

Immediately our demeanor changed. The fight was about to begin. Every motion from this moment could decide the outcry of the upcoming conflict. I slowly gulped. Each breath and movement was calculated. A single sweat drop snaked down throat. My hands slowly moved to my pocket to pick up a stone. I flicked my hand.

The stone soared in slow motion almost as though time itself had slowed down.

'Thud'

Then all hell broke loose.

To be continued.....