An Unexpected Love (Book 2 of the Unexpected Series)

Ch. 2 - First Days Suck, Too

Summary: Kokoro begins her training and realizes she has much to catch up on.

Kokoro was up early the day she had to go to the academy. She threw on the plain, dark uniform with distaste, pulling at it and inspecting it. She much preferred her own outfit, but she understood why she had to wear the Academy uniform. She decided to throw her hair up in a tight bun to keep it from hindering her vision, and she wrapped her usual blue bow around her waist. After some consideration, she untied it and left it to sit on the floor. She didn't think the bow would be appreciated, even if it was useful in certain situations. Without an identifying hitai-ate, she felt like something was missing. It was frustrating and discouraging. She quickly ate leftovers for breakfast and packed a lunch before throwing on her shoes and leaving her apartment.

On her way to the Academy, she passed children of all ages dressed in the same garb as her. They were walking quickly to their destination while Kokoro took her time, observing everything around her. The children were more subdued than Konoha children. Many were on the smaller side, and a handful of them were bulkier than them. Some of their uniforms hung around them loosely, like they didn't have enough body mass to hold the fabric in place. They wore blank faces and frowns, barely talked to each other, and kept a distance from one another that Kokoro couldn't tell who was friends and who wasn't. A few students glanced her way curiously before their eyes lit up with recognition at the color of her hair. They sneered and turned away, gossiping with those closest to them and pointing her way. One girl bumped into her and glared at her vehemently. She turned around and stopped in front of Kokoro with her arms crossed over her chest. She was younger than Kokoro - possibly around the age of eight - and had dark blue hair that complemented her milky white eyes.

"You don't belong here," the girl snarked.

Kokoro opened her mouth to say something before she caught herself and remained quiet. The last she needed to do was get into an argument and cause problems on her first day. She sighed and tried to get around the girl, but the girl stepped in front of her again. Irritated, Kokoro said, "Excuse me. I have somewhere to be."

"I don't care," the girl said. "We don't want you here. Go back to where you belong."

"Did I do something to anger you?" Kokoro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I can't believe you asked me that!" the girl shouted angrily. "You humiliated my brother! You mocked Kirigakure by using that- that evil jutsu while wearing a Konoha headband! The Mizukage should have had your head!"

"I was using my abilities to my advantage, something shinobi must do in order to win," Kokoro told her. "Your brother understood that when he used that water jutsu while it wasn't as powerful as it could be. He was a formidable opponent. You should be proud he made it that far in the exams."

"He should have won," the girl seethed.

"But he didn't," Kokoro stated. She sighed as a bell tolled throughout the air and the children spectating the disagreement ran towards the academy building in a hurry. It must be 8, then.

"I'm sure your sensei will be happy you're late," the girl taunted. She laughed and ran towards the building, leaving Kokoro to stand there in disbelief.

"Unbelievable," Kokoro muttered under her breath as she ran to make it inside the building. She wasn't given a specific location to be at, so she wandered through the halls until she stumbled upon someone. His moused-up blue hair and eye-patch was familiar, as was the permeating scowl on his face. He was glaring at the wall and tapping his foot with impatience, and when he turned his burning gaze on her, she stiffened.

"You're late," he said stiffly. "If you aren't willing to take this seriously, then I have no qualms telling the Mizukage I'm too busy to train a brat like you."