Leading the girls out onto the training fields after our class was over, I glanced over my shoulder as I watched them follow behind me like ducklings, some girls giggling and talking to one another while others remained silent, their faces either shy or serious as our feet landed on the special sandy terrain that made up the Academy Fields.
The last minutes of our class had been the girls asking various questions about every aspect of my life, from how I started as a Kunoichi to how I grew further, they asked about my private life, with most interested in knowing if I had children or was planning on having children.
There were other questions, and I answered almost all of them; some were either to private, like what happened to me in the war, and some were just rather inappropriate, like which of my wives I loved the most.
I didn't scold the girls for asking those kinds of questions; it's par for the course, really, when allowing them so much information about me beforehand, so I just shook my head and said 'Next question'.
Besides, the questions let me get used to knowing who was more into what kind of topic, and I could use that to focus their attention on something rather useful; for instance, I had no problem telling them about my early missions since they could learn from my stories; if they encountered something in a test or a practical exam, and thought 'Oh, Kokoro-Sensei said she did this, and it was...', then I had succeeded in teaching them at least one thing.
Already scattered around the field were the boys, with Iruka-Sensei standing in the middle, his eyes flitting from boy to boy as he shouted out corrections to each.
They were doing sprints, but some ran with unneeded movements while others were overexerting themselves.
Seeing me leading the girls forwards, he whistled out, signaling them to stop.
"Gather round! Quickly now, quickly! Alright, from this moment on till the Academy lets out you will be under the tutelage of Kokoro-Sensei, who is going to be your teacher for Taijutsu, Kenjutsu, Shurikenjutsu, and so much more. Listen to her, as she has not only experience in the field but is also a Special-Jonin, so she knows her ways around a battle. I'll be here still as her assistant, but even then you will listen to her first and foremost. Got that?"
All the boys let out a "Yes!" before turning to me, while the girls filtered into the group, standing besides their friends.
"Alright, I know you all just finished sprinting, but we'll be starting each class with a series of stretches and basic exercises so I know each of you is ready to begin learning techniques and so that you won't hurt yourselves. Mirror me, and memorize what I do; in the future, I won't be leading you in your stretches."
Meeting the gazes of the students before me, I nodded before flowing between the various stretches that loosened out the body, stretching each limb and joint before repeating everything one more time.
Some students were groaning and mumbling to each other, only to stop when I glanced their ways.
Most went through the stretches with ease, with the best ones being those with Shinobi backgrounds, be it from Chunin parents or being apart of a Clan.
The civilians were the ones complaining, but after seeing their peers and teachers doing it without a word, they eventually fell silent.
Finishing the stretches, I had each student do a number of push ups, sit ups, and squats, wanting to get their blood flowing even more.
Some were panting at the end of each set, while others were looking towards me with determination.
"Good, at least all of you can keep up. Nara, you've three more to go! I'm watching you!"
Glaring at the Nara Heir, Shikamaru, attempting to sneak a few half squats to fill his quota, I held in a chuckle as I heard him mutter "What a drag..."
"You've got an Akimichi besides you who, while sweating profusely, managed to do them faster... come on now Shikamaru...."
One of the boys turned and grinned at the Nara Heir, making the lazy boy roll his eyes.
Everyone watched as he finished his three squats, blinking at me a few times before letting out another sigh.
"Alright, spread apart a little more; you're going to want some space between you. We're going to be going through basic punches for now, and after you all do a few sets of ten, we'll move to kicks."
Looking out over them as they all spread out, I nodded before saying "Mirror me again; try to match what I'm doing. Iruka-Sensei, after I get them going, take the left side and correct anything you see wrong please."
The man nodded before standing a few feet off to my left, staring at me intently.
Lowering myself into a basic stance, I then started going through some basic jabs, my hands balled into fists.
Since they were so young, I needed to make sure everyone went over the basics as best I could, to give them something to work on in the years to come.
Those with clan training instantly fell into the stance, all recognizing Konoha's Taijutsu that was used as the basis for their clans specialized styles.
As for the others, they mirrored me the best they could, and when I said "Just fall into the rhythm; left, right. Left, right. Keep going!"
Each student was throwing their left fist forwards before brining it back to their chest, and then they threw their right fist forwards.
Repeating that constantly, I started moving towards the right side, walking between students and correcting their wrongs.
"Midori, place more weight on your legs when you step forwards; what you're doing will lower the power in your strikes by a lot."
The young green haired girl nodded, her cheeks slightly flushed as I corrected her.
Watching her throw a few more jabs, I nodded before moving away, approaching a boy and correcting his posture.
Iruka-Sensei and I continued on for a few more minutes, before all the students were in as perfect posture as we could get them.
Walking back to my spot at the front, I let them throw a few more jabs while I looked over at Iruka-Sensei, who wore a soft smile as he looked over the crowd.
"They're not doing that bad, for third years..."
I nodded, before adding "Most have Shinobi parents or are Clan Heirs though, so no surprise there."
Chuckling, he scratched his cheek before adding "Well, even the civilians are doing better. I just think that they, compared to us as kids, are simply... better. They have better education, better food, better water, less stress..."
Pursing my lips, I stared over the practicing children, before letting out a sigh.
"Sadly, that breeds only a generation of stronger children; after that, they grow weaker mentally. We may live at peace for now, but Iwa and Kumo are restless, and Kiri grows worse by the day. As for Suna, it's been run into the ground by idiotic policies by its Daimyo and Kazekage. Konoha is at peace..."
Glancing at the falling sun that crested over our high walls, I sighed as I concluded "For now."
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Chapters inside the Academy might be slower than everything else, but I want to even that out with other things, be it lemons, missions, or slice of life outside the Academy, with the family getting into random antics, like Karin wanting to murder Hinata or vice versa.
Let me know if something is dragging on for too long, since I've done it on my main book before where I can just... dive into one thing and spend awhile having fun with it.
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