Hello

My name is Yoshizawa Raito, just your average boy in the ninja academy. And as for my unique feature… perhaps it would be my green eyes. There aren’t many I have seen with green eyes in the village, at least.

Then, another would be… ‘I am an orphan.’

When I said this, it sounded sad, but truth is; it’s just… the life of a ninja. When I got the news, I took it quite hard at first, but I was somewhat prepared. My parents never sugarcoated things like missions and death. They knew it would happen, and so they prepared me for it. They would always tell me about these things, about the life of a ninja and the true harsh world outside. How anyone could die in the line of duty at any next moment.

‘If you are not ready to die, then you shouldn’t try to be one.’ that’s what my mother said.

Sigh

It’s been about three years now.

Um, the first year was absolutely horrible. I did absolutely minimum… to live. At first it was fine, I went to the academy then to school, but that stopped after some time, after I felt like it didn’t matter anymore. I had no interest in studies or sharpening my skills. So, I simply stopped.

After stopping, I bought bread to eat and there was water from the tap for me to survive. Thankfully, there were people who paid my house and service bills.

Time passed, and I stopped going out. I started hating people.

People who are walking happily on the streets, sitting comfortably in their seats and enjoying the life. In short, I started rejecting peoples, who I see every day.

I hated them and how they looked at me. Even when someone tried approaching me, I lashed out at them. I was behaving stupidly, recklessly and emotionally.

There were people who knocked for hours on the door, on the window, from morning to night. I later found out they were my parent’s friend and students, who wanted to help me in this tough time. But I kept them away for whatever reason I thought I had.

Later I found out that many tried breaking in using force and Ninjutsu but they didn’t even leave a scratch behind.

This fortress like house my parents left behind had many seals inscribed on every corner with varieties of seals that it’s practically indestructible. Even Hokage-sama could do nothing about it.

After the death of my parents, the only one other than me who had the permission to enter was Mitarashi Anko. Hokage-sama recalled Anko-nee from her long-term mission. I don’t know what happened to that mission, and I never had the courage to ask.

The day Anko-nee returned, she came directly to the house while Hokage-sama was ready with a team of medic-nin.

The medic nin told me I was lucky to survive without food and water in my system. If Anko were a few days later, then I would have been a corpse instead.

I was forced to stay in the hospital for about three months, eating bland nutritive drinks and power blocks. At first, the medic-nin had to use chakra to condition my body into a physiological state.

I got slapped, lectured, hugged, and cried upon at the hospital.

As the day passed, everything was becoming routine.

Wake up and get cleaned.

Eat the nutrition meal pack and get checked.

People will come to visit and say something, and I just had to nod. And eventually they would go.

Eat more and exercise then… sleep.

Last day of the October, chilly winds of the lands, laughter and bustling in the village.

I met Yamanaka Inoichi, my first of many mentor.

Things changed… slowly, at a turtle’s pace.

Anko-nee took a break from being a ninja and spent most of her time with me from November at the hospital.

I listened… a lot about anything and about everything.

She would tell, and I would listen. Her small summon was always with me, coiled around my body and it felt like a shackle to me.

Other than her, I would spend most of my time with Yamanaka Inoichi. His voice was soothing and somewhat interesting. I could remember his voice like a curse, forcing me to contemplate his words, forcing me to think, imagine, and create it.

Days passed as I ate, exercised, listened to Anko-nee’s gossip about people and took part in Inoichi’s lessons.

I met with other people. They were happy to see me?

I should smile back and thank them for visiting me. And someone had even paid for the house, service charge and hospital fees.

I should be grateful, and so I did.

I made a small smile and bowed my head.

I contemplated,

I thought I had no one, but in reality, I had so many looking after me.

Iruka-sensei came to visit me along with a weird person, copy ninja Kakashi.

I could take the semester exams if I wanted to but without the practical test my score would be on the lower side.

Before I could, Anko-nee agreed, and I started learning frenzy.

Books after books, quiz after quiz. I went through them like a prairie fire with the help of Anko-nee.

Although I wasn’t anywhere near top ten, I got a full score on my theoretical portion.

Anko-nee brought a bunch of books and I finished them.

When I finished one, she would bring another and another.

One day, she came empty-handed with a silly smile on her face and said that we went overboard and finished all the theoretical portions of the academy; I laughed… I laughed freely for the first time in a year.

New year, new semester. I started going to the academy and Anko-nee started her job in T&I department. I continued my visitation with Inoichi sensei from time to time as a patient and a student.

And Iruka-sensei was not my homeroom teacher anymore, it was instead Mari sensei or Mari-nee for me. I remember her from the hospital. She is quite good at teaching but I have already finished learning the syllabus at the academy. So, I mainly focus on practical lessons most of my time.

Inoichi sensei took me to meet the traveling merchants, who have a variety of things, things never seen in Konoha, like those electronic games.

First extravagant purchase of my life, electronic games, cost, 21,000 Ryo.

It just attracted me like a banana for a monkey, like fish to water. I chose one, then another, and somehow it became two enormous bags.

Connected to TV, I played, completed, and started another. A day went by and I continued playing.

Handheld took time, but I played. I sneaked into the academy, sat on the last seat and played, only to be discovered by Mari sensei. She confiscated my game box and lectured me but in the end; she returned it to me.

Such addiction was the first for me. I skipped my Taijutsu lessons, blitzed through Ninjutsu and theory portion.

I nearly failed my practical portion of the exams, and I even stopped visiting my parents’ memorial. I was that much addicted to the game at a point.

One day, I found I was near completion of the last game in my game collection and I knew it would just take me just a few more hours.

Unhesitatingly I dropped my kunai pouch to the table. I sat on the couch and continued playing game.

I didn’t know but my absence at the academy alerted some people.

Just as I had finished my game, the door banged open and Anko-nee rushed in with a worried face.

Seeing me on the couch, she dashed towards me and hugged me tightly.

Along with her, Mari-nee and Inoichi-sensei also rushed in and looked at me and the game box in my hand.

In just six months, I had finished about 250 games.

I had to promise them to focus on my studies.

Inoichi sensei and Mari sensei started giving me more things to learn. I was with one or another, if I wasn’t in the academy. Inoichi sensei started giving me books to read and Mari sensei showed a secret in my house.

It was a small book with doodles on the first page.

It was also the thing that my parents wanted me to learn the most.

With time, I started getting more involved with the academy and other miscellaneous things in life. I had a lot of things that I wanted to do; ordinary ones and extraordinary ones.

I took a step back and looked at people around me. They all had their stories and had lost things that were precious to them.

This life is just so difficult. To gain something, we lose something. Balance is just so hard.

I just wish for a happy life?