With the end of the summer came the return of the Ninja Academy opening its doors to the aspiring Shinobi of Konoha, and for many this was the dream slowly coming to fruition as they put in hard work and studied even harder to become the best Shinobi and Kunoichi that they wanted to become.
However, for a few this was a place that only represented shattered dreams and ill will as they were either denied access to the first year for a myriad of reasons or told that they would no longer be attending this Academy, simply because they were not fit to become Shinobi.
It was with a heavy heart that we Sensei needed to inform some of our students that they were to be barred from entering this place again, which stained the beginning of the year as we settled into our classes with a few less students each time.
The pain that it caused to deny these children their dreams was immense and cruel in some regards, but it was for the best; they didn't display enough of an aptitude to warrant proceeding to teach them, nor did they display a deep enough desire to warrant polishing them further, to see if under the rough edges lay something beautiful.
For me - and as messed up as it may sound - the way I healed myself from that pain was to look towards the rest of the class and revel in their brilliance as we met once more beneath the Academy's roof, ready for another year of training to become Shinobi that the village could be proud of.
I was blessed that the class I had in front of me was so attentive and talented, with each of them being rather fun to teach in each of their own ways, so I was looking forwards to yet another year with them.
Of course, I was also getting some looks from the class as they wondered when the news would drop that - once more - I was pregnant in the midst of their academic year, so I cleared that up really quick and just said that it would likely happen again, but later as I had to begin building their foundations regarding chakra usage this year, which wasn't an easy thing to do.
Not everyone could grasp and unlock their ability to easily utilize chakra that quick, so I would need to personally guide quite a few of the students before anything of the like happened, which I had also discussed with Cameia before hand, letting the tall Priestess know that I hadn't forgotten that it was 'her turn' with me, but that we just needed to wait.
So the first few days of the academic year was spent sifting through my students and understanding who amongst them had access to their chakra already, who struggled using it, and who needed to still truly unlock it, after which I began to have them do exercises based on their respective stage.
For the moment - since it was the beginning after all - I kept it basic and had them practice Tree Walking and Leaf Concentration, while those that needed to unlock it were given personal one on one time as I aided them in unlocking their chakra.
Outside of the Academy, things were the same as always, with Kurenai and I spending our free time with our daughters while Anko and Cameia traveled around the Land of Fire completing missions for an extra but of Ryo.
Lady Tsunade was still hard at work inside her newly reconstructed house at the bottom of the compound, where she and Shizune lived now, while also coming back up towards the main house to flirt with the four of us and indulge in sex together.
It had been... difficult for Kurenai and I to grow accustomed to seeing the buxom Senju gracing our bed so easily, especially when it was Anko who was savoring the body of a village legend, but it became normal as we enjoyed the company and relief that having an extra woman provided.
Especially when that slightly evened out the playing field for me, since I was no longer the sole object of desire for my three wives, though that did sting a little deep down.
But, I was far from jealous since I knew that - despite Tsunade having a body made for sin and lust - I was the one that Anko, Cameia and Kurenai loved at the end of the day, and that I would be who they would turn to for their lust a majority of the time.
I can't even be mad knowing that there was a portion of their mind that desired the soft embrace of the Senju Princess living in our compound, since I myself lusted for her body despite firmly believing I wouldn't.
All in all, as the academic year began and we got into the groove of teaching again, everything was even more perfect than last year, with our new additions to our home, a deeper relationship with our friends, and with Kurenai and I slowly becoming more acclimated to the peaceful life of being mothers.
It all was incredible to experience, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.