Chapter 97: Meeting My Class (1)

Entering the Academy with Kurenai, I saw the old lady who ran the place, Miss Tiaga, standing before us, an elegant smile on her face.

"Miss Kurenai, Miss Kokoro! Welcome to the Academy! Are you excited?"

Kurenai nodded, looking relaxed, while I gave her a tight nod and stiff smile.

Seeing that, Miss Tiaga chuckled as she laid her hand on my shoulder, giving me a reassuring squeeze as she said "You'll do wonderfully, Miss Kokoro. I know you will. Now come; orientation is first."

Nodding, we followed behind the older woman and made our way to the giant fields behind the Academy, where hundreds of children gathered.

A large platform had been erected on one side, and Miss Tiaga made her way towards it, standing behind the podium.

Remaining beside Kurenai, I looked over the sea of children, my heart speeding up.

There were two reasons for that:

One, I was incredibly nervous; this was our next generation.

All the missions I took, the lives I reaped, meant nothing compared to this.

Those had minimal impact on the wider aspect of this village, but teaching these children did.

They were the future.

They would take over for us when we retired, and as such, I needed, as did every other teacher, to make sure that they grew as best as possible.

The other reason my heart sped up was because, as had become more common, I looked over the various faces and realized that, one day, my children would likely be here, preparing to become Shinobi.

It was both a warm feeling and an anxious one.

However, it was mainly warm, as I grabbed Kurenai's hand and smiled at her, enjoying her gentle smile back to me.

Letting out a cough, Miss Tiaga started her speech.

"Welcome to the Shinobi Academy for some, and welcome back to others. Like every year I will try and keep this short.

You are all here for one reason, and one reason only; to learn the Shinobi way and eventually become Genin.

This Academy is meant to hone your skills, to push you further into finding your path, your Nindo.

If you wish to become a renowned healer like Lady Tsunade, if you want to be a skilled user of Ninjutsu like Kakashi, if you want to be the next Hokage...

Your journey starts here.

This is where you will learn the basics of your craft, from how to wield a blade or Kunai, how to utilize your chakra, and how to remain unseen.

This is where you will make friends and companions, all of whom should be treasured dearly; a Shinobi can do little by themselves, but in great number, they can change the world.

Now, you all are already separated by year; each of your head teachers will lead you towards a part of the grounds where you will hear more in depth for what it is that you will do during your year here.

Teachers, please make your ways to your designated areas, and lead your students well.

Students, like always, I expect you all to be on your best behavior, to learn all you can, but most importantly..."

Leaning forwards, she gave everyone a gentle smile, saying "Have fun. This is the beginning of your life, and where it takes you is entirely based on your individual performance. However, do what you enjoy. Now go!"

Kurenai and I grinned at one another, and I said "That was shorter than I thought it'd be. Mine was a good thirty minutes long..."

She chuckled, nodding as she said "Mine was as well... Miss Tiaga does a good job with these. Come on, let's go meet our students!"

We made our way to the other side of the field, where I saw an energetic blonde boy bouncing up and down, only to be slapped on the head by a pink haired girl.

However, very quickly after that Hinata appeared, pushing the pink haired girl away.

Then a long blonde haired girl approached Hinata, but before they could fight...

"Hey, come on guys! It's the first day! Play nice!"

The man who approached them was of average height, average build, and his most distinguishable feature was a long scar across the bridge of his nose.

"But Iruka-Sensei, Hinata pushed me!"

The pink haired girl let out a whine, only for him to raise a brow as he said "And you hit Naruto. Sakura, apologize to Naruto; Hinata, apologize to Sakura."

Sakura glared at Naruto, only for her to flinch as Hinata glared at her.

Seeing that, I sighed before walking forwards, smiling as I said "Hinata. Apologize."

The young Hyuga Heiress flinched, her white eyes going wide as she turned to stare at me.

Still smiling at her, I waited, watching with mild amusement as she hesitantly approached Sakura and said "I... I'm s-sorry..."

Sakura pursed her lips before nodding, only to sigh as she said "Sorry Naruto."

The trickster in question grinned at that, only to beam at me, saying "Heya Aunty! You're really teaching at the Academy huh?"

All the other students turned to stare at me, most in confusion.

Iruka cleared his throat, giving Naruto a stern stare as he said "This is Kokoro Kanei, your new teacher for Kenjutsu and Taijutsu, as well as the Kunoichi's teacher. Say hello everyone!"

"""Hello Miss Kokoro!"""

Nodding to Naruto, I turned to everyone else and smiled at them, my eyes flitting over all the students.

The class was relatively large, with around thirty five or so students.

There was the two Hyuga members, the Aburame Heir, the Inuzuka Heir, the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Heirs, Naruto, the last Uchiha Sasuke, and a kid who looked like Might Guy.

This was a loaded class; this was truly the next generation, as, barring any accidents, they would be the next heads of clans.

Smiling at everyone still, I also took in the civilian born students, nodding to myself as they all met my gaze, not looking terribly afraid or nervous.

I'd need to test them, sure, but they didn't look scared of a new teacher, which was a good start.

"Besides Miss Kokoro, we have Miss Kurenai returning to us to teach History and Genjutsu. Make sure you pay attention to her class, alright? She's by far the greatest Genjutsu user inside the village, so try to learn as much as you can. Genjutsu is an important skill, be it using it or recognizing it, you will need to know it as a Shinobi. Now, girls, make your way over to Miss Kokoro; she'll take you to the Kunoichi class to start, while the boys will follow me, and we'll be doing some extra physical activities."

"""Yes Iruka-Sensei!"""

All the students started walking around, and just under a dozen girls stood before me, looking at me with curious eyes.

Kurenai stayed by my side, her hand still on mine.

"Good luck love. I'll be in my classroom preparing."

I nodded, only to freeze as she kissed my cheek.

All the girls let out 'oohs' and 'ahs~', making me smile at them.

They fell silent moments later.