I woke up early, the sun sending down rays of light through one of the windows and lighting up the room. I yawned and stretched my limbs in an attempt to shake off some of the soreness from one of my training sessions.
It's growing dull… I should increase the intensity later. I wonder when I'll be able to start weighted training. Not soon, that's for sure.
My gaze switched to the snoring children. How the hell do they sleep so much? We go to sleep at pretty much the same hour every day. Anyway, today should be the day.
I sighed, got out of the covers, put my clothes on, went to the bathroom, splashed my face with water, and stared at my reflection in the mirror.
Huh.
I brushed my teeth, then made my way back to the girls' room, picked up my belongings, and started walking through the corridor to the main room.
I sat down in one of the comfy chairs and kept waiting in the main room.
Technology, technology, technology… Hmmm.
If I'm going to bring anything new to this world, what should it be?
I thought back to the subjects I previously considered useless: chemistry, biology, geography, history, politics, literature… The one I really have an interest in is chemistry.
It was the one subject I actually did quite well in at school. The other subjects? Average.
I could really go for a Coke right now… wait, Coke, that's it! Brilliant, Amai! You'll be able to turn this into quite the business!
My hands were resting on my knees as I stared at the ground, looking pensive. When are my parents going to come pick me up?
Then, the matron entered the room and saw me sitting down. She spoke with surprise:
"Oh, Amai, you're up so early, like always."
"I don't really like oversleeping."
"But lying down on your bed feels nice, doesn't it?"
"It does when you feel genuinely tired, but I want to get things done and not waste more time than needed."
"Like?"
"Uh… training?"
"Well, color me surprised. You're definitely a hard worker, young lady."
"Thank you, Miss Matron."
"By the way, your adoptive parents are on the way and should be here in about an hour."
Damn it. I should've stayed in bed.
"I see..."
"Care to join me for breakfast? It's quite early, so we will have plenty of time to chat."
At the mention of food, my eyes lit up and my stomach grumbled a little.
"Yes, please, may I?"
"My, so polite. Of course, come with me."
She held out her hand to me, and I took it, getting up from my chair and starting to walk behind her, her pace slowing down to match mine. Surprisingly strong. Was she a retired Shinobi?
She led me to the administrative office, opened the door, and let me in.
"Take a seat, Amai."
I did as she said, approaching the table and sitting down in one of the chairs. Soon after, the Matron joined me as well.
I looked at the plate. Eggs and bacon. They had this too the entire time?! I gulped and instinctively salivated.
"Thank you for the food," we both said simultaneously.
I expertly picked up (Yup, I got quite good at handling chopsticks during my time here.) a small piece of bacon with my chopsticks and dipped it into the golden, shiny yolk, popping it open and smothering the bacon with its yellow liquid. Then I brought it to my mouth and began chewing.
Oh, I missed this. The bacon was so crispy, and the yolk was just heavenly, complemented by the saltiness of the bacon.
"How do you like it?"
"I—It's so good!" I replied in bliss.
"We normally don't serve this since it's quite greasy and not good on a daily basis, but this is a special occasion," she said before chomping on her own bacon slice.
"So, Amai, care to tell me what your dreams are? What you want to do in the future?"
"…I've never really thought about it, but I guess I want to be the strongest Kunoichi ever."
"That's a nice dream… Tell me, do you like anything in particular? Any hobbies? Besides training, of course."
"Hey, training is a hobby!" I replied, remembering a certain character from a calamitous fic. (If you know, you know!)
She chuckled. We both chuckled.
"I suppose I do like eating. If possible, I'd like to cook as well. Try to replicate all the tasty food we eat."
"Maybe you'll be able to try it once you've grown a little more, huh?"
Ugh, right in the pride. It's not my fault that I'm a toddler.
I finished the food on my plate, and so did she. Then we heard the bell ring.
"Oh, they've arrived early. Let's go, Amai. Don't worry about the plates."
"Mm."
I nodded, got up as well, and followed her through the corridor to the main room, where Jun and Hikari were waiting.
Jun noticed us, smiled, and then waved at us.
"Good morning, how have you been doing?"
The matron spoke up in response.
"Good, good. You're here for Amai, correct?"
"Yes, of course."
She turned to me and said in a melancholic tone,
"Well, I suppose it is time. We'll miss you tons, Amai."
"Miss Matron… thank you for everything."
I hugged her waist, feeling her warmth, and she promptly knelt down to my level to return the embrace.
"Make sure to visit often, alright?"
"Yeah."
I turned to my adoptive parents.
"You ready to go? Got your stuff?" said Jun.
"Never been more ready."
"Okay, then… hup!"
He grabbed me by the waist, pulling me up to his shoulder. Waaaaah! I yelped.
"Upsy daisy!"
Both my stepmother and the matron laughed heartily, and we went out.
Why does everyone treat me like a fucking child?!
(A/N: Hey, guess who's not dead?! I'm finally setting up a consistent schedule! I'll be uploading 3 chapters a week, on monday, wednesday and friday. Sorry for the delay!)