Naruto: Snow Cold

By my standards, the academy started a little too early compared to my world. I had been informed that classes would begin at 8 AM, so I woke up two hours ahead of time.

The reason my dad was absent on the day I was admitted to the academy was that he had a training mission. Apparently, he was getting rusty, and some of the bruises and cuts on him came from this so-called "mission." He told me not to worry about it, though it scared me a little at first.

Dad helped me pack my lunch while I gathered all my stuff: notebook, pencils, eraser, and other basics. I doubted we'd do much on the first day.

"Be good, okay?" said my mom, planting a kiss on my forehead as she held my shoulders.

"And most importantly, have fun, Amai," added Dad with a light smile on his face.

"Mm," I nodded. "See you, Mom, Dad!"

I headed out and arrived about 15 minutes early. I had been assigned to class 5B, located on the third floor. The room's design was somewhat similar to what I was used to, except it had large windows, plants, and some other unique touches. A few kids were already there, eagerly taking up the front-row seats. Look at them—getting so fired up already!

Meanwhile, I, the true mastermind, knew exactly where to sit: the back seat. The one where you could snack on an entire buffet, play, or do whatever the hell you wanted while staying completely unnoticed by the teacher. It's perfect—hahaha!

I sat down and waited patiently. The minutes ticked by, and then a familiar boy walked through the door. This must be fate, right?

He beamed at me and came up to me, and we fist-bumped. "Hey, we ended up in the same class!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Care if I sit next to you?"

"Sure, go ahead." I made space for him.

We waited, and eventually, an adult passed through the door. Must be the Sensei, right?

"Mornin', class! How are you doing today?" He said cheerfully while waving at us. "My name is Kuroda Ryuuji, and I will be your Arithmetics and Literacy teacher for this year. For now, I'll tell you all what the curriculum will be, and what subjects you're gonna have from Monday to Friday." He picked up some chalk and began writing on the blackboard while explaining the course of study.

Apparently, we'd have Mathematics, Literacy, Geography, History, Science, Chakra Theory, and Shuriken Practice during the first two weeks of the Academy, and then we'd start Taijutsu classes to learn how to fight physically and spar with each other. Chakra Control would also be a subject, along with Genjutsu Theory. Sounds like we'll have an interesting year.

"Now, I'd love to get to know you all a little better. How about I start by introducing myself? As you know, my name is Kuroda Ryuuji. My hobbies include pottery, sculpting, and hiking. I'm a Chuunin of Konohagakure, and I like teaching Arithmetics quite a lot. Who wants to introduce themselves first?"

Some hands were raised already, eagerly waiting to be chosen. Man, standing in front of everyone is gonna be embarrassing. I'll try not to stutter, I guess.

Time passed by, and I'd already gotten to know the names of mostly everyone. Especially since the clan kids sounded so proud of their surnames. There were around 31 students in total, three from the Uchiha clan, and two Hyuugas. Yeah, I guess they've recovered during the last few days.

A Sarutobi, one Aburame, the typical Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi trio, two Hatake kids, three Inuzukas—and you know what surprised me the most? Two Senjus. Weren't the Senjus exterminated? How the hell are they still alive?

Please, don't tell me I'm in an alternate universe. If that's the case, all my knowledge of the future will become futile!

Oh yeah, the rest of the class was made up of civilian kids and a low number of orphans. I recognized Suzume amongst them, though I hoped she wouldn't recognize me.

After most of the introductions were done, I was called. Eeek, this is gonna suck. I panicked a little, but composed myself and got up from my seat, walking to the front. I took a deep breath and declared:

"My name is Amai Hashimoto, I like cool jutsus, and, uh... I-I'd like to get along with everyone here." Fuck, that sucked. Whatever, it's just children.

"Done already?" said Kuroda-sensei with a little concern.

"Yeah."

"Well, that's a start," Kuroda-sensei said, giving me an encouraging smile. "Thank you for sharing, Amai."

I quickly returned to my seat, feeling my face burn. The kids seemed to have moved on, and I was grateful for that. Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought.

Once the last student finished, Kuroda-sensei clapped his hands together. "Alright, class, now that we all know each other a little better, how about we do something fun since it's the first day? Let's head outside to do a little Shuriken Practice. We'll learn and have fun at the same time. Isn't that great?"

Most of the class cheered, except for the more shy ones. I could tell they were excited, however. I was really eager, too.

This was a chance for me to show off my skills for once!

We all accompanied Kuroda-sensei, and he explained to everyone how to throw shuriken properly. There were many stars and lots of targets, enough for everyone.

I grabbed some for myself and observed what they were doing. The Uchiha kids—Takumi, Yuuma, and Masaki—were doing very well, as expected, showing off their accuracy by hitting the center with each throw. Although they still needed a little time to load up their shot. The others were doing fine, some struggling, others managing to land decent throws.

I couldn't help but feel a bit more competitive as I watched them. I looked down at the three stars I held in my hand and then glanced back at the target. I loaded my arm, swinging forward and flicking my wrist as I did, letting one go. It curved through the air, landing dead-center on the target. I repeated the same action two more times, each shuriken landing around the center.

I was so used to doing this back at the Training Grounds, honestly. Doing this for years could do that to you. Although I still didn't know how to pull off the absolute bullshit where Itachi changes the direction of his kunai by throwing another one. That kind of skill seemed way beyond me, at least for now.

It was good, though. To know that despite being surrounded by people from prestigious clans, I was doing well.

Kuroda-sensei gave me a thumbs up and congratulated me. "Good job, Amai, keep it up. You're doing really well."

"Eheh, t-thank you, Kuroda-sensei," I sheepishly said. I really gotta grow out of my shell.

Feeling a bit more relaxed now as I kept practicing, I was thinking...

Maybe this is not going to be as troublesome as I thought.