The Future [Class / Koji]

[Onamuji]

Arriving at the Academy surprisingly early, the auburn-haired shinobi known as Onamuji took his time in getting acquainted with the classroom and review the material for the day. He was, after all, new to teaching. For all his power and experience as a shinobi, not once had he ever been tapped to instruct the youth of the village. In truth, he had been far too absorbed in his other works to give time to the notion of teaching.

Now, however, he sought to do his part in strengthening the village. And to do that, he would need to serve the village in civil matters. One of the most direct ways to do this: acting as sensei at the Academy.

Only one Student showed up on the roster: a newer entry by the name of Sato Koji. It looked, on paper at least, to be a one-on-one class. Late entries weren't unheard of, but it was best not to expect them to show. The sage prepared for the single student, but kept his lesson open to late attendees should they arrive. And, by the look of the clock, they had about nine minutes to arrive before being marked tardy...

[Any interested students are welcome to join. I'll give the topic 24hrs after the first Student posts, then begin the class.]

 

[Koji]

Koji rushed around his home. He was trying to get his legs in his pants and brush his teeth at the same time. Don't be late, don't be late! Today's the big day!</I><i></i> Koji smiled and resumed his morning routine. Today was indeed a very special day for Koji. His first ever academy class! The boy had been waiting for this day for quite sometime. Before it was all speculation, now Koji was actually going to get his hands dirty; so to speak.

As the boy rushed downstairs he flew into the kitchen. His mother smiled and held out a fruit with some toast. "Be sure to eat this before you go. You need your energy." The woman smiled and hugged her soon after handing the food over. "I'm proud of you Koji. You said one day you'd be a ninja, look at you now." A light red came across the child's face as he took in his mothers compliment. "Well... It looks like all the boy's of the house are real ninja now eh?" Koichi, Koji's brother, stated as he headed his way. "We worked hard to get you here little brother." Koichi slapped Koji's leg gently, alluding to how Koji had overcome his disabled legs. The blushing only worsened. "Th-- thanks Koichi." Koji mumbled, a smile growing on his face. Koichi chuckled and got behind Koji. He placed both his hands on his back and then shoved the boy out the front door. "Now get out of here! Don't leave your teacher waiting!" Koji stumbled as he ran out the door and waved back to his family.

And with that the boy was off to his first ever Academy class.

Upon showing up Koji stood outside the room he was supposed to enter. He had been told this may be a one on one class with the teacher. This made koji as little nervous, as he always was when meeting new people. Especially one on one. Koji took a deep breath and closed his eyes. <I>This is it Koji, this is what you've dreamed of. Let's get it started! The child then exhaled his deep breath and marched into the assigned class.

"Hello!" Koji stated as he walked through the door. Glancing to the clock Koji let out a small sigh of relief. Whew... made it. With 4 minutes to spare. The boy entered the room and lowered his head for a bow. This would also hopefully hide his rosey cheeks so he didn't look so nervous. "My name is Sato Koji. I was told to report here for my first academy class." The boys voice surely sounded slightly nervous, but hopefully the teacher would catch the excitement and enthusiam as well. Koji was eager to start and would try his absolute best in whatever was thrown his way. He looked to his feet and smiled. He'd overcome worse than this before, right?

 

[Onamuji]

And here he was.

"Good morning, Sato Koji. Early...good," the long-haired instructor noted, looking back to his notes, "My name is Onamuji. I'm a Jounin of the village, and I'll be your sensei for the day. You can call me Onamuji, Muji, Sensei...whatever you want. I'm not too strict on formalities."

Gesturing toward the array of open desks in the room, Muji said, "Feel free to take a seat wherever you want. I'd like us to get to know each other before we begin the lesson. Understanding a little about one another makes it a bit easier to get something more out of it. You'll know what to expect from me, and I'll know what you hope to achieve here."

The sage walked to the sensei's desk, taking a seat on it and stretching a bit. This wouldn't be too difficult. In fact, having one Student made it a bit easier to connect and teach. Instead of broadening and watering down the lesson, he could focus it on the one Student...

 

[Koji]

Koji listened as his teacher introduced himself. A Jounin, huh? I really did luck out.<i></i> Koji was excited. He was sure to learn a lot from this man. The teacher permitted Koji to address him in any form, the boy stressed a bit as he wanted to pick the one that sounded best. He then motioned for Koji to take a seat anywhere. The boy nodded and sat silently in one of the front row desks. He folded his hands together and listened as Onamuji announced their first activity.

"I'd like us to get to know each other before we begin the lesson. Understanding a little about one another makes it a bit easier to get something more out of it. You'll know what to expect from me, and I'll know what you hope to achieve here."

Koji nodded to his sensei. This seemed like a reasonable first thing to do and actually calmed Koji as he felt less stressed on what to say.

"Well, Sensei." Koji couldn't help but crack a small smile when he said that. Finally he had a real Sensei. "I'm born to a small family of 4, including myself. My father and brother are both Shinobi of Sunagakure. When I was younger my legs were disabled. I couldn't hardly move them. The younger years on my life were speant in a wheelchair. For awhile I was happy, not knowing anything other than my chair. Until one day I had a dream of myself standing with my family. I was a chunnin of Sunagkure, and even better yet, I was standing on my feet. The dream was so real I had to pursue it. I trained with my brother everyday and soon I was out of my wheelchair on onto my own two feet. Koji smiled to Onamuji. "So I guess my real hopes for the academy are to learn everything and anything I can so that my dream truly does come true and so I can stand proudly by my father and brother as a ninja of Sunagakure!" Koji pulled his shoulder blades back and sat up straight. When he said his dream out loud it sounded great.

[Marked For Training]

 

[Onamuji]

"Do you?" the sensei asked rhetorically, "A worthy desire, to stand beside your family. If I may say so, however, I believe this is but the first step - only the first of many goals. Though I do wonder what you will do once you achieve this goal. There will be much more to accomplish at that point, after all."

Giving a light shrug, the auburn-haired sage went on to note, "But then, that's my job. To prepare you, to teach you, so that you might achieve these goals and gain the strength to follow through. Of course, there's also the fact that the stronger you become, the stronger the village will be..."

Of course. That was the general goal, all things considered. The Academy was not a simple school for children...it was a crucible that formed the weak and useless into shinobi of Sunagakure. And that's where Muji came in...

"My name...is Onamuji. I am a Jounin of our village. Normally, I don't teach Students, but...I don't know. I felt compelled. As an elder - well, relatively speaking - shinobi, it is my duty to impart my experience and knowledge unto you. I specialize in ninjutsu, but I have some minor ability in taijutsu and genjutsu, as well, so whatever you'd like to learn, I should be able to accommodate you," Muji explained, giving a curt bow.

With a few lightning-quick handseals, the sensei transformed, altering his form entirely. His hair turned stark white and shortened to an almost bald state, and his muscles shrank to a weak and fragile sight. The once-fit and youthful Jounin seemed to emerge as a sickly old man.

Though initially upright and confident in his pose, the transformed sensei hunched over and mimicked the posture of a broken old man. With a smirk, he said, "Today, I will teach you one of the three basic jutsu that all Students must learn before being eligible to be acknowledged as a Genin - a true shinobi of Sunagakure. This is the Transformation Jutsu. With it, you can blend in, mask your identity, or confuse your opponents."

Forgoing his facade, the sensei stood upright again and released the illusion, reverting back to his former self once more. In a slow, deliberate order, Muji showed him the handseals required to perform the jutsu. Dog, boar, ram. Once more...dog, boar, ram. With a nod, he looked to gesture for Koji to give it a shot.

"I assume that since you're here, you have some idea of what handseals are. Repeat what I did. Perform the handseals to focus your chakra, then release it. It may take a few tries, so don't be discouraged. With such an exact art, it's impossible to know how to balance it all in the first shot."