The next day, at the Academy.
"As I was saying, the way you write these characters is just as important as memorizing them," Mika-sensei said, writing on the board. "But you guys know what also is important?"
She suddenly threw the chalk in her hands with the precision of a veteran, and hit the wall right behind Amai, which suddenly jolted her awake in fear.
"Paying attention and not sleeping in class! You think I won't notice you just because you're at the back? I'm a ninja, for god's sake!" She said, scolding Amai. "This also goes for everyone else. If you don't pay attention for whatever reason, I will know, and I will find you.
It matters not where you hide, or how much you run. I'll catch every single one of you that doesn't take my class seriously."
The class went silent entirely. It was only the first few days, and yet Mika-sensei was instilling the fear of god into them!
'This woman may be nice, but Jesus fucking Christ, she's terrifying when the time comes! I was this close to getting impaled because I thought it would be a good chance to get some sleep. Guess not... I have to learn this either way.' Amai thought still quaking in her boots, figuratively and literally. Mika-sensei wasn't a ninja for nothing, and especially since she's a Tokubetsu Jonin!
The class continued without interruptions, thanks to Mika's earlier threat. No one was stupid enough to anger her after that.
Amai noticed that she was making steady progress, and a few characters were learnt. Only a few, but that was still pretty good progress for a complete beginner in such a short period of time.
'That said, she has great accuracy. Mika-sensei is probably really good at Shurikenjutsu, so if I ever need help getting started on that, I can just bug her for it.'
Then, the bell rang, and everyone carefully headed out for recess.
Amai sat down at one of the tables with her friends, observing her every step and fearing for her life.
"Amai..." Rei started, nervous. "Mika-sensei is scary. Really scary."
Takuya snorted, "You don't say? A few inches closer and the chalk would've hit her directly in the face."
"Yeah, you probably shouldn't try to take any more naps in class, Amai." Daichi added, "She'll probably kill the next one who tries it. Mika-sensei wouldn't really do it though, right?"
Amai almost shivered in response to that.
"She probably wouldn't do it for real. Otherwise, she wouldn't be teaching." Amai replied, trying to convince herself and the others. Mostly herself.
Silence ensued for a moment.
"Have you guys eaten anything today?" She asked, trying to spark up the conversation once more.
The group took a few glances towards each other, and then Rei turned to Amai.
"Just a few ration bars. We know money is important, but don't know what kind of stuff to spend it on without wasting it, so we just get a lot of ration bars here because they're cheap and easy to eat."
Amai stared at him, her face blank.
"For real?"
"Yeah? They're only slightly worse than the food at the orphanage. Both Daichi and Takuya can agree with me. Right, guys?"
They both nodded sagely, and Amai couldn't help but feel bad for them.
'These poor souls. They're eating these bland, cardboard-tasting bars every single day! That's it, I'm going to teach them how to cook, no matter what it takes.'
"Do you guys mind meeting up at one point? I'm thinking it would be nice to teach each other the stuff we learn. In my case, I've been learning a bit of cooking, so I could be like the Remy of the group."
"What's a Remy?" They asked in unison, confused.
'Right, Ratatouillie isn't a thing here. Another reason this world sucks.'
"Nevermind that. My point is that I could be like the chef of the group, as long as we share budgets. That way, we can share meals and discuss various things, like subjects you're struggling with, or even training."
"Oooh," Rei said, eyes lighting up. "Kind of like a ninja study group?"
Amai shot a thumbs-up at him. "Yup. Just remember, you'll still have to bring your money. I'm just as limited as the three of you—we all get 1,200 Ryō a month, so combined, it would be about, uh... 4800 Ryō."
"You're quick at math," Takuya commented, impressed.
'I'm flattered, but I actually failed 11th grade math.' Amai thought, shamelessly looking away.
"A-Anyway," she coughed, trying to regain her composure. "Are you guys in on this? I'm willing to do my part, so long as you all do yours."
They thought about it for a few seconds, before looking back at her.
"Yeah, we are." Rei said, giving a small smile. "I'll try my best to help, too."
"Same here," Takuya chimed in, "I'm actually kind of struggling in math, so it'll be helpful."
"Just don't make me do the dishes. You guys know I suck at that—even the matron banned me from doing them when it was my turn, after dropping and breaking two plates in a row." Daichi groaned, slumping over the table.
Amai couldn't help but smirk in victory.
'Perfect. Training partners and more money, acquired!'
And so, the bell rang, signaling the end of recess.
Class transcurred as normally as it would, with Amai being especially careful as to not fall asleep once again and be impaled by a piece of chalk.
'They have already given us the curriculum for this year, and apparently, we'll be covering writing, reading, basic math, history, hell, even science. Both nature and social science, at that. And we are even going to have two hours of chakra theory a week, which is nice.
I might know some stuff because of the show, but there's probably a lot of in-depth stuff I'm missing. There are like five basic natures, right? Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Lightning. And chakra's basically just the combination of the physical energy generated by the body and spiritual energy, which is basically your brainpower, and maybe something else that I'm missing.
Definitely. Those two aspects are called Yin and Yang, aren't they? We'll probably cover it during chakra theory.'
Amai noted that her writing of the characters has gotten better, and thought that soon enough she'd be able to write her first words in Japanese.
'Anyway, what interests me the most is that we'll start having shuriken practice as a subject in around two weeks. Shurikenjutsu is nice, but I don't remember it having much use in the show. It was usually only good in the hands of an Uchiha, and even then, it was always either blocked, deflected, or dodged—ending up doing absolutely no damage.'
She couldn't help but furrow her eyebrows at one character. How the hell do you write this?
'Sparring will also start in around 3 weeks. It will be a nice way to see where I stand, having these three as my training partners. I may have been training my body, but I have no combat experience. Even more so since I have never gotten into an actual fight before.
My routine will see some interruptions, but I think I should manage. I'll also have to try and get that damn part-time job when I get the chance, and maybe check out the library. I've heard a fair bit from Mika-sensei during class, and apparently, they've got scrolls with techniques up to C-Rank, which honestly sounds fair enough.
What kind of person would leave academy students with access to elemental dragons? Not that we'd have the reserves or control for that, but still. I'll need to become a genin and somehow get access to the higher-ranked jutsus if I want to become strong.'
Riiing! Riiing! Riiing!
"Class is over," Mika-sensei announced, setting down the piece of chalk in her hand. "Remember to solve the math problems I gave you, and tomorrow we'll start with Chakra Theory. You're all dismissed."
Some students could be heard groaning and stretching as they packed up their things.
Amai slid her notebook into her bag and stood up, ready to leave.
'If there's something I'd like to change about the education system, it's for students to not be sitting for hours straight, even if they get occasional breaks. It really isn't healthy to be sitting a quarter of the entire day. Anyway, I'll probably have to revise my routine and make time to meet up with those three, along with getting a job at Ichiraku.
Today's the day I'll get an actual job, and not end up a leech like in my past life. I don't want to be a jobless NEET who relies on the effort of others anymore.'
She clenched her fist in determination.
'Let's get this fucking bread!'