Chương 4: Chapter 2 - Meeting

I could hear the voices of other kids and parents long before I saw the Academy's gates. Since leaving the house, I was barely able to contain my excitement, because today was the day... it was finally time for me to enroll in the Ninja Academy, now that I have turned six. Seeing my jittery excitement, my Mom's hand rested on my shoulder as we walked, squeezing me for encouragement.

"Slow down, Renji. You'll get there before the doors open. We left on time, so there's no need to rush, okay? Geez... Did you even sleep? You wolfed down your breakfast without chewing it!"

"I have slept enough, and I did chew! Once or twice..." I said, which earned me her you-are-so-Daizen's-son look, rolling her eyes while my Dad was simply strutting next to us, proud and all. Sometimes, I imagined him to look like a peacock, and me being his feathers, parading around the Uchiha compound. Oooh, look at me, my son is going to be famous! Or something.

"I remember how I felt when I was his age!" He chuckled, sighing with nostalgia. Dad, you are barely twenty... Haah, well, somehow, in this world, every kid counts as a combat-ready adult by twelve and goes on ANBU missions when fourteen... At least, if I go by Kakashi and Itachi's story. And Minato. Wait... does that mean I will too? Haaah... Goodbye childhood!

"You can't blame the kid for it," He continued in the meantime, "He is more than ready to awe everybody inside! Just watch. My little ninja is going to be at the top of his class!" Well... You are probably up for a surprise, I thought, as I was sure I wasn't going to be the best... Some people had been given more gifts than others by a certain author, so I was swimming against the current here, so to speak. Anyway, after we turned a corner, I finally saw it...

There it was: the Ninja Academy, exactly how I remember it from the panels. Two stories of pale timber and red tile, the Leaf symbol carved above the entrance. Yep. It still looks the same, and I was really here, about to go in... Not watching on a screen, not reading a wiki on my phone, but right here, standing on the actual ground zero. Damn... My inner nerd immediately began live-commentating in my head, while I was doing my best to hold back from blurting his words out loud...

I had to stop grinning before someone called a med-ninja to check me for brain fever... And embarrass my Mom. As for the others, multiple kids were already present as their parents stood around, chatted in small groups, probably either neighbors or from the same shinobi clans... Hmm... There were not many whom I could have recognized by looks alone. Oh well. There should be some kind of roster or calls by name, no? Then I can start memorizing.

As for us, Dad, of course, found the other officers from the Police Force, as it seems there will be another Uchiha joining the same class as me. Huh. As for Mom, she had drifted toward a circle of other mothers discussing chakra-safe laundry techniques or something... was that a thing? Huh. Okay... I guess... Now that I think about it... How will school work? That was never really explained, was it? Are there... multiple classes? I mean... grades? What are we even going to learn?

Huh, this was wholly uncharted territory, as the best I know is how to graduate. I should steal the big, forbidden scroll and... khm. No. Let's leave that to future Naruto. Thinking about it, suddenly, I was feeling weirdly tall and tiny at the same time, surrounded by so many people. Yeah... I was... well, technically six years old, but with my memories, I had a different perspective, seeing things for what they really were.

The math sometimes didn't add up in my head, yet my heart kept racing like it was my first day of school again. I mean, it was, but... Ugh. Renji, calm down. Just... act normal. But everywhere I looked, history, or what would be history, looked back at me... Haaah. Let's do this, Renji. Let's make the best out of it! Slapping my face, calming myself down, I began surveying the people around us, mostly the kids.

There was a sleepy boy with his hair tied back into a pineapple bun, leaning against a fence, muttering about how troublesome crowds were. Nara clan, no doubt about that. Check one off the list. Moving my eyes, I spotted a loud kid with a tiny puppy perched on his head, darting between people, barking orders, quite literally. I see... Inuzuka clan. Check one more off the list! Let's see... Ah. Over there, by the swings, a pale-eyed girl was standing perfectly straight beside her father in the shade. Hyūga.

No questions. Another check.

"Something wrong?" Mom asked, noticing how silent I became since arriving. I think... I looked, for the first time, nervous.

"Nothing! Just… appreciating the architecture." I mumbled, trying to find an excuse, a real enough one. She gave me the same skeptical eyebrow Dad used when I claimed not to have stolen extra dumplings... She knew I was bluffing, but she just smiled and patted my head. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"It's alright, my dear. It will be fine." That's when I saw him. Hooooly shit. I recognized him at once... The future fourth Hokage... He arrived alone, nobody to accompany him, bright golden hair, blue eyes... Already having a confident and calm aura. Minato Namikaze... Oh... I almost smiled, as after arriving, he didn't really know where to stand, so he just... found a spot at the fence, remaining alone, fidgeting slightly with the hem of his sleeve like any normal six-year-old who had been left alone in a crowd.

I guess... we never really knew his background, besides that, he may have been an orphan. The word 'may' playing a significant role in it. Well, seeing him arriving alone, I can tell that he was, no doubt about it. The way he stood there, feeling like an outsider, I knew he was... Because in my old life, I felt the same way, and I did the same thing when going to school for the first time. I knew exactly how it felt...

Watching others with parents who encouraged them and came for them at the end of a day, while I was alone, doing everything for myself. Haaah... I am lucky now. Looking up at my parents, I couldn't help but smile... I also saw that Dad and Mom were talking to someone instead of watching me. Good... Time to act, then. If I played this right, I could make contact before the Academy even opens, and we are shuffled to different classes or however it works, so I walked over, acting casual...

Or like someone with stage fright.

"Hey," I said when I got to him, wanting to slap myself. Hey? Really? That's the best I can do? Renji... come oooon!

"Hm?" He looked up, his eyes visibly cautious but polite.

"Hello."

"Renjiro," I introduced myself, sticking out a hand.

"First day?" IDIOT. OF COURSE IT'S HIS FIRST DAY. IT'S YOUR FIRST DAY TOO!

"Yes." He blinked, taken aback, but then reached out to grab my hand. His handshake was light, still careful of what I may want.

"Minato." He added, and as I was listening... He spoke softly, almost formally, every word measured to be perfectly in line with what is expected from a kid.

"You came alone?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Yes," He nodded again, "My parents… work far outside the village. They couldn't come today." Lies. I caught it at once in his eyes as he looked away when saying it... Touchy subject, I get it... And he was ashamed, maybe because he had lied to me, or maybe because he was ashamed of being an orphan. Or both.

"That's rough," I shrugged, trying to sound as friendly as I could, "Most of these guys brought entire cheering squads." I pointed towards the Inuzuka clan, which was the loudest of everyone.

"Yeah," His lips twitched a little, maybe almost forming a smile as he looked towards where my finger pointed, "But it's okay, even if I prefer the quiet."

"Oh, you're one of those people," I teased, "The cool, mysterious type."

"No," he shook his head, and that earned me a tiny laugh, barely audible but genuine.

"I'm just not used to talking too much."

"Should I go?" I asked, tilting my head, and luckily, he immediately shook his head.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."

"No worries!" I grinned as I found a spot near the wall, leaning against it next to him, watching the other children try to one-up each other with imaginary jutsu battles.

"Are you confident in yourself enough to enter the Academy?" I asked suddenly.

"That's why I'm here." He folded his arms, being a bit more serious, "Do you think they'll start us with shuriken practice or something more advanced?"

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow, realizing that it seemed his favorite topic would be training... huh? Sure. Why not?

"Probably physical education and history first. They won't go into hand seals as we aren't supposed to use ninjutsu yet. And even if we learn about it, it will be only theory." I said automatically, then caught myself.

"I mean, that's what I read somewhere."

"You read about the Academy?" he asked, getting even more curious.

"Uh... yeah. Big nerd." I chuckled, pointing at myself... Well... That was the understatement of the century.

"I like knowing what I'm walking into."

"That's smart," he said simply, nodding his head.

"I also borrowed as much from the library as possible."

"We have a library?" I blurted out, and seeing his surprise, I quickly added, "I read at home. I'm from the Uchiha clan."

"Oh." He blinked his eyes, understanding, and I could see a flash of healthy excitement behind them.

"I see."

"Well, I am not the best, but I try," I grinned, "Hopefully, we'll study together and then we can help each other to improve, hm? You do theory, I'll throw things at the targets until I'm good enough not to hit the teacher. The perfect way to study teamwork!"

"Heh," That earned another quiet laugh from him, "Deal." Just then, from the corner of my eye, I caught Mom and Dad watching us. Mom had that almost hidden but proud smile that mothers usually wear when their kids remember to share their toys on the playground. Meanwhile, my Dad said something under his breath, making her laugh as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. I could almost read their lips...

"He's good at making friends."

"That's the best thing we could ever hope for."

"It's starting," Minato said suddenly, "You should go back to your parents."

"Oh." I flinched, looking at him and the opening of the main doors.

"Mhm. Well, Minato... Hopefully, we will get to the same class." I grinned, "Then we can race to see who graduates early, hm?" I widened my grin, and I could see another flash in his eyes, his smile being proper, genuine.

"That sounds fun." He nodded while I walked back to my parents, just as a woman in her thirties stepped onto the stone stairs at the entryway, wearing a standard chūnin flak vest with a clipboard in hand.

"New students, please gather! We'll begin introductions inside."