14 First day at the academy (part 1)

Author's note: short chapter. I will publish part 2 tomorrow.

___________________________________

Today is officially my first day at the academy and I'm really excited!

I woke up early this morning to prepare myself.

Yesterday, I asked my father to buy me a new set of clothes. I'm wearing clothes similar to those the original Neji wore in Naruto Shippuden: a white kimono-shirt with long sleeves, white pants, a black belt tied around my waist, black sandals, and a black headband to hide the bandages around my forehead.

These clothes are really convenient to hide my weights. I decided to not buy a gravity seal in the system shop because I recently learned from my father that some shops in the village sell gravity seal. So, I just need to save enough money since my father doesn't want to buy one for me… Why? Because according to him I'm old enough to take care of all my needs. He gives me a monthly allowance and except for food and clothes, he doesn't buy anything for me anymore… Seriously, I'm not even six years old…

I take the bento I prepared yesterday and put it in my bag. Now I'm ready.

"Father, I'm ready. We can go now." I said.

My father will accompany me to the academy.

"Let's go." He said.

…

It's my first time outside the Hyuga compound. The village is really beautiful.

There are trees everywhere, the houses are small, and the air is pure. No skyscraper, no airplane, no car… At least, I don't risk to die again because of a car.

As we walk, I see many children with their parents walking to the academy.

The shinobi academy is a huge building located directly at the base of the Hokage Mountain. It looks a lot like in the anime with the giant sign with the kanji for "fire" on it.

Once we arrived, we join a group of people who are waiting outside the academy.

I can hear children talking around me.

"Mom, what are we waiting for?" One of them said.

"Hokage-sama will soon arrive and give a speech." She answered.

"Hokage-sama, really?" He said excitedly.

I ignore them and try to find Lee and Tenten among the people here.

I spot Tenten not far from me, she's with a man, probably her father. I recognized her because she's the only one here who is wearing a red Chinese dress and wears her hair in two Chinese-style buns on her head.

However, I don't see Lee. He's probably late.

After ten minutes, the Hokage finally arrives.

Everyone looks at him as if they were looking at a god. It's true that the old man has a strong aura and a lot of charisma.

The Hokage stands in front of the academy entrance and faces the crowd.

"The entire village is like a large family and every shinobi with the Will of Fire loves, believes, cherishes, and fights to protect the village. All of you present here, represent the hope of the village. If you are able to endure hard training and work hard, you will one day become a shinobi of Konoha..." Said the Hokage.

He continues his speech for about five minutes giving mainly encouragement to everyone present here.

After his speech, everyone applauds.

The Hokage really knows how to chose his words. If I was really a five years old child, I would be very excited about becoming a shinobi. But I know that shinobi are basically just killers.

Fighting and killing to protect my family doesn't bother me, but killing because someone paid for it…

The Hokage leaves the place and a shinobi, probably a teacher, comes to announce the name of each student and the classroom they must join.

"Neji Hyuga. Classroom A-1." He announced.

I say goodbye to my father and walk inside the academy.

The classroom A-1 is easy to find, it's the first classroom after the entry hall.

I enter the room and see many people already inside.

The class is large and consists of three rows of five desks. Each desk is big enough for three students.

Being a Hyuga, I inevitably attract attention. Everyone is looking at me… Some with respect, other with indifference, but a good part of them seems to fear me. I understand them, despite my good look, my white eyes are really intimidating.

There are plenty of free seats but the seat next to Tenten is free. Since we are going to be teammates, it's better to know each other as soon as possible.

I walk towards her…

"Can I sit here?" I asked.

She looks at me a little surprised.

"Sure." She answered.

I sit next to her and wait for the start of the class. The teacher is not here yet.

A lot of students continue to arrive and after a few minutes, Lee finally enters the classroom.

I have no doubt it's him, I recognize his "bushy brows".

He glances discretely at all the students then sits at the back of the class. I know that before meeting Might Guy, Lee was shy and often bullied at the academy.

Five minutes later, the teacher finally arrives.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Matsuda Takuya, I will be your teacher this year." He said.

"Good morning, Matsuda-sensei." We all said.

"Before starting, each of you will introduce yourself. First name, last name, and dream for the future."

Each student starts to introduce himself...

I'm not really interested in the other students. This year I have a plan: befriending Lee and Tenten. I also plan to be rookie of the year, but not an exceptional student. I don't want to attract too much attention.

It's now Tenten's turn.

"My name is Tenten Mitsashi. My dream is to become a legendary kunoichi like Tsunade-sama." She said.

"Alright. Next!" Said Matsuda-sensei.

"My name is Neji Hyuga. My dream…"

I have a lot of dreams…

"My dream is to be strong enough to protect the people who are dear to me." I said.

"Interesting dream… Next!" Said Matsuda-sensei.

"My name is Kento Uchiha. My dream is to become as strong as Itachi Uchiha!"

Oh, an Uchiha. Poor Kento he doesn't know that in a few years he will be killed by the man he admires so much…

Thinking about it, what should I do about the Uchiha?

Hmm… No, no, I don't want to think about it now, I just want to enjoy my first day at the academy.

After a few students, It's finally Lee's turn.

"My name is Rock Lee. My dream is to become a powerful shinobi." He said.

…

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________Author's note:

Thank you all for your suggestions about the summoning contract.

Some of my ideas:

- Lion: Neji becomes a kind of beasts master and fights alongside powerful lions. Some lions have wings and can be used as mounts.

- Panda: (Kung Fu Panda) They can teach Neji new fighting styles and unpredictable moves. They can also teach him medicine and give him rare and ancient medicinal plants.

- Koi fish: Neji specializes more in Water release jutsu and the koi fish can eventually become powerful dragons.

What do you think?

Anyway, to get the summoning contract, Neji will have to go through many trials, so there will be a lot of action and he will finally use all his skills.