two.
Six months since the night everything changed, and Konoha was mostly back on its feet. The Shinobi and the Civilian academies would start accepting children soon which meant that one of the most important decisions had to be made. “ Shinobi or Civilian?” Both Academies as a rule started accepting students in the five to six year old range and taught reading, basic maths, and a general overview of The Land of Fire’s histories. From there, the academies differed.
The Civilian academies would teach higher maths and literature. Civilian academies could introduce students to apprenticeships and there were smaller specialized academies throughout the land of Fire. Basic education courses ended at about age ten. Konoha village had a specialized academy for medicine, one for metal work, and the academy of law was in the Capital.
The Shinobi academy had one large building located close to the Hokage tower and the jonin center. After basic education was completed, chakra exercises and physical training were introduced. Higher-level literature included classes on code-breaking, poetry, and basic Konoha sign language. Higher maths included calculations needed for basic fuinjutsu matrixes. Taijutsu was added, along with survival training, basic shurikenjutsu, and a brief overview of human anatomy. The required twelve years set by the Sandaime after the Third Shinobi war could be bypassed by a clan head, or if a student entered an apprenticeship with jonin. The Shinobi set students up to be at least genin, with a 80% graduation rate. The academy also offered extra classes for kunoichi and information processing.
One of these clearly had more benefits. It was no mistake that the orphanage was so close to the shinobi academy, and it was no secret that the majority of the genin corps were civilians. Konoha village was a shinobi village and prioritized their shinobi. This is why helpers, matrons, and scouts spread the word around the orphanage and civilian district about the many benefits of Shinobi schooling, sweetening the deal with cheap accommodations and the glory of Konoha.
It also happens to be a very convenient opportunity to teach children not to flare their chakra signature in a shinobi market. Hisako had some propaganda to spread.
Ei was on edge. She slept in the girls room for once and slept terribly. Ei had been making a habit of sleeping in Naruto’s room so she could quiet the boy and tend to his needs during the night. One of the helpers saw how tired she looked and suggested that she return to her own room to sleep. She had grown so used to Naruto’s presence that the 3 girls in her room felt almost foreign to her, and their room was much draftier. And it smelled different. The window didn’t let in as much light. Everything about the room felt wrong now, but Ei stayed in the room for the night anyway.
She regretted it now. Children talked and rumors grew out of proportion, but Ei got the real story from a boy in the yard. She cornered him while he was practicing hand signs. He said that the helper had got mad at Naruto’s crying and tried to shake him! Ei gaped at the boy, she was astonished that one of the helpers could be so awful! The boy saw he had an audience and dropped his hand signs to hold one finger against his lips.
“What happened next is a secret!~” The small gathering of kids protested loudly and demanded he continue. Ei pulled at her fingers and rocked on the balls of her feet while she waited for the boy to continue.
“Alright Alright! A shinobi dropped in from the window and took the kid right out of her hands! He had a super creepy mask on! It was an Anbu shinobi!”
The little crowd that gathered around gave appreciative “wah!” and “uwah!” noises. Then they all paused. A little boy popped his thumb out of his mouth and asked,
“What's Anbu?”, other kids nodded and piped up with similar questions.
The boy put one hand on his face and nodded sagely, “Anbu is the super secret elite group of shinobi! They are really creepy.”
She was mad and knew her face was getting red. She wanted to ask why Naruto was almost hurt, why the matrons ignored Naruto. None of the children in the yard were waiting to speak though, they all spoke at once she couldn’t get a word in. She tried to wait for three seconds but the boy had already turned away.
The thing about people is, when you tell them, “Do not speak of the Kyuubi.” They will talk. If you say, “Never tell the boy what he is,” then people will say, “What boy?” and “What is he?” When people who ask questions quietly disappear, it makes people question more.
People talked a lot. People talked about a baby that shinobi were afraid of. They spoke about a baby who was stalked by shadows with masks. They spoke of their late Hokage and how he defeated Kyuubi. Children were observant. So they saw the baby in a separate room who was carefully ignored. They saw when the helper who tried to shake the boy was fired, and noticed when she was never seen again. They stopped seeing a boy and only saw the fox.
Ei saw red and yellow, she saw orange. She saw a little boy with no family and called him her own.
“Gah!”
“That’s right. I am going to sleep with you tonight, Naruto-chan!” Ei huffed and pushed the mattress into the corner. She checked to make sure her futon was not in her way, then spread her sheets onto it. Once finished she carefully picked Naruto up and placed him on top. He babbled happily in her arms and continued his stream of baby noises while Ei moved things around to her liking. With her things occupying the space, Naruto’s little room didn’t look so lonely anymore.
“Abbah.”
“Yes.”
“Bbbh”
“I agree.”
Naruto shrieked with laughter when Ei pursed her lips at him, she widened her eyes and he laughed harder. Ei sat heavily on the mattress, making Naruto bounce and fall onto his back in a fit of giggles.
“I am going to sleep in here now, so you won’t be alone.” She crossed her legs and leaned over the boy. When he opened his blue eyes and gave her an open smile she smiled back.
“I won’t let the helpers be mean to you.” She said this with determination, the sheets were twisted in her fingers.
“I’ll take care of you, and we won't be alone.”
She closed her eyes and breathed in a warm breeze from the window. The slide of water over smooth stones became the fuzzy moss under trees. It had changed again. She sat with her eyes closed and just breathed.
“I am not going back to the girls room.”
Naruto did not babble back so she waited with her eyes still closed. Ei relaxed her grip on the sheets.
“They don’t want me to be there. And they don’t need me there.” Ei opened her eyes and they were dry. She had thought she would be more upset, but maybe leaving that room had been a long time coming.
Ei had been taking care of her own laundry and Naruto’s, she had been doing her hiragana practice books without being told to, making sure that she and Naruto were clean and fed. She had slept beside Naruto in his crib for a couple of nights, and when she went back to her own room none of the girls said anything. Ami-san and Naoki and Ren, they hadn’t said anything when she started dragging her mattress off to air it out by herself and they didn’t help her. They said nothing when Ei moved her tatami basket of worldly possessions to Naruto’s room.
“You need me here though.”
Ei looked at Naruto and wondered if this was what families were like.
“Gah!”
________
There is a phenomenon where when a bolt of lightning strikes, it makes crops grow faster. When this was observed by civilians in the age before the villages formed, Raiton-natured shinobi were hired out all over the continent to charge fields for a quicker harvest. This was one of the first large-scale realizations that jutsu could be used for something other than violence. Clans like the Uchiha had used jutsu for specific crafts before, using carefully controlled flame jutsu they created highly prized ironworks, but the realization that flame jutsu could also be used for specialized artistry like pottery changed their economy. The change from jutsu only being used for war, to jutsu being used to make up for human limitation started the wheel that moved the warring states period into the modern day. Ei was intrigued by this.
Ei did not want to be a shinobi. She had no want to see other nations or uproot trees with a breath. She did not want to kill people or become the kind of person who passed out in training fields. Ei was interested in walking on walls and water. There was no reason for one, Ei just thought walking up walls was very cool.
From her observations (staring at a genin team learning to walk on water), the shinobi population of Konoha was strange. But.
The orphanage was a large building, it was in the middle of a triangle formed by the academy, the Hokage Tower, and the marketplace. When an orphan reached 18 they moved out into civilian housing and were not provided for anymore. Shinobi Academy students can move out into Shinobi districts. Ei was interested in this.
Ei’s sources (gossiping housewives, volunteer helpers, and teenage boys) said, if you graduated, you could move into the shinobi housing district. Everything is cheaper on the shinobi market, this Ei knew and took advantage of often. Shinobi were also much quieter in general, and not nearly as bright as civilian markets. Shinobi did not retire, but after 5 years of service, you are given a medal and can choose to have your name added to the reserve corps. 5 years was not too bad, and the reserve corps are only called for during wartimes anyway. Ei liked cheap deals. Ei also liked the idea of her own house.
She had many questions for Hisako-san.
_________
“Hisako-san.”
Ei handed the stern-faced woman an academy sign-up sheet. Hisako-san took the sheet and passed it over quickly, when she was done she handed the paper back to the young girl.
“What is your question Ei?”
Hisako looked at the little girl in a too-big shirt and waited for Ei to reply. Hisako thought that Ei had shaped up nicely from the girl who cried at everything and talked people’s ears off. She had learned to stay silent but didn’t back down when she thought it was important. The Matron had seen that Ei no longer resided with her assigned group, and thought Ei was very mature for taking initiative.
Ei blinked up at one of the few helpers who did not ignore or snub her. Hisako was firm, but always answered questions. Hiasko was not afraid to touch Naruto, which made Ei trust her even more. She could always depend on the older woman to give Ei good answers.
“Can you tell me about the Academy?”
Ei put her hands on her knees and huffed. She pushed her slightly sticky bangs out of her face and resolved to cut them later. Two flights of stairs with a baby strapped to her back was hard, but Ei thought of it like training. Soon she thought, soon, I will walk up walls! Two weeks ago she decided to join the academy. Her goal is to be a desk-nin and live quietly with her brother.
“You here for the apartment kid?” A man with crossed arms had been waiting at the top of the stairs for her. He looked resigned to the fact he was selling an apartment flat to a six-year-old girl but Ei did not notice. Apartment hunting for orphans was made easier by the fact that the closest apartment complexes to the orphanage were there for academy and genin use. This was the second complex she had looked at. The first was too tall; the only flats available were on higher floors, and a genin had seen the baby on her back and slammed his door shut.
“Yes.” Ei bowed shallowly and straightened to follow the man.
Hisako-san said to look for a place with large windows, make sure there was no mold anywhere, and check that the sinks work right. Ei said she was taking Naruto with her. This gave Hisako-san pause. Hisako never paused. Hisako-san eyed her and eventually nodded.
“You have any idea of what you want?” He scratched lazily at the stubble on his face. Ei tapped her fingers three times and rattled the list off at the man. If he was offended that Ei asked for a flat without mold it only showed in a deep sigh. He stopped at one door and unlocked it.
“Alright, take a look around, see if it suits ya.” He yawned widely and leaned on the door frame while the girl and her young charge looked around. The flat was small and had an open floor plan, it had a kitchen area with a table and chairs, a bathroom, and a bedroom. Ei checked the window, it looked big enough, it would have plenty of sunlight. The kitchen came with a table and chairs, and the fridge was goodsized. Ei checked the bathroom and was pleased to note that the toilet was one of the sit-down ones. The tub looked clean, and when turned on the shower head worked nicely. The couch looked nice, and the furniture provided was not new, but not scrappy either.
Ei came back to the entrance with wide eyes. It was so nice! It was also a lot. Ei remembered the questions Hisako-san told her to ask and had some more of her own. She turned her wide eyes on the man waiting.
“Well? You want it?” He spoke gruffly but not unkindly.
“Does the kitchen have plates and stuff?”
“Yeah, the whole place is fully furnished, it's got all the features you need.” He cleared his throat when he made eye contact with the girl and got the distinct impression of being watched by a bug. The baby on Ei’s back made a spit bubble. Ei blinked.
“Does the closet have towels?”
“Yeah? It's fully furnished.” The man scratched his chin again.
Ei blinked up at the man. He stared back.
“Where do I wash clothes?”
“There are communal washing machines on the ground floor.”
The man leaned further into the door frame as he figured this would take a while. He sighed, why did his complex get all the weird ones?
“Where do I air out the mattress?”
“It's... a mattress. You don’t air it out like a futon.”
Ei blinked and tightened her hands into fists. She did not wait 3 seconds to reply to this and quickly said “I want it!” She bowed shallowly again which made Naruto laugh.
The man sighed. “Call me Keisuke. I’ll be your landlord.” He pulled a key from a giant ring in his pocket to hand to her.
He had really hoped she wouldn’t take the apartment. This morning he had the sage scared out of him when an Anbu had just appeared in his office to say his complex had been chosen to host a sibling pair from the orphanage. He had stuttered out a “wh-” , but the Anbu bowled over him and continued speaking, “Suzuki Keisuke, you will host a girl, short brown hair, six years of age, and a male child, blonde, six months of age. Hokage’s orders. You will give them any apartment of their choosing and you will be compensated for any expenses.” Any protests died in his throat when he looked at the dark holes in the cool ceramic mask. He did not want to disappear.