<hr/><div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: Trajan pro;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Chapter 1: A New Arrival</strong></span></span></span></div><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: palatino;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 10pt;">"Come along Midori-chan. You don't want to be late, do you?" Yuhara Jinmi called softly down the hallway, her voice carrying without her having to raise it much. The woman was good at that, Midori had noticed in her short time with Kanetaro-oji and his wife. Before, whenever Otousan had brought her to visit, it had just been Kanetaro-oji. Otousan did not like to to go Kanetaro-oji's house, so she had never met his wife before even though she had hard of her. It was different now that his wife was pregnant. She was not very far along, as far as the nine-year-old could tell. Not that she had much experience with judging the progression of pregnancy. Still, it made Kanetaro-oji act differently, and Midori was not quite sure if she liked the change.<br/><br/>"No, Jinmi-sama." she answered politely, scooping up the sandy-colored ball of fur that had been insistently attempting to climb up her leg. Midori was not quite sure what to call the woman her Ojisan had married, having only known the woman for two days, but as she set Sunako on her shoulder, she hard the reply she had been getting every time she tried to be polite to the woman.<br/><br/>"Midori-chan, please do not be so formal. Call me Oba." Kanetaro-oji's wife was nice, she did not demand it, but the words did not seem right yet. Too familiar. Maybe soon she would feel close enough to be so informal. Maybe. <br/><br/>Emerging, if somewhat slowly from the room she had been given use of, the small girl eyed the unfamiliar woman shyly, unsure what to do now. She was dressed in her normal t-shirt and shorts that Jinmi-sama disapproved of, had Sunako on her shoulder, and had eaten breakfast before getting dressed. What else was there to do before going to the academy? Midori figured that she would hear of anything she forgot soon.<br/><br/>"Come on, Midori, I'll walk you to class. Here, I've packed a bento for your lunch" the woman handed a neatly-wrapped package to Midori.<br/><br/>"Thank you." she said softly, inclining her head formally as she took the package from Jinmi-sama. The woman sighed, making Midori wonder what it was she had done wrong. But no correction came, and instead the woman lead her out the door and down the street. The walk was a little long, comparatively to the one they had taken to the market the day before so that she knew the way from Kanetaro-oji's shop to her new home, but it did not seem so bad to the young girl. Eventually they arrived at a large building with children playing outside, rushing to greet their friends as parents dropped off their offspring. To Midori's relief, Jinmi-sama lead her past the children and into the building. It seemed like she knew where she was going, and Midori payed attention so she would hopefully learn her way around. It was not difficult, luckily.<br/><br/>Into the third door on the left she was lead, with Jinmi-sama ahead of her, speaking to another adult with a mark across his nose. Eventually, he turned and addressed her with a nice, friendly smile. "Hi Midori, I am Umino Iruka, I'll be your instructor. You can call me Iruka-sensei."<br/><br/>"It is nice to meet you, Iruka-sensei." holding her small hand out, Midori waited to shake his hand, as her father had taught her was polite upon meeting people. Her new instructor had an odd smile on his face as he shook her hand, sending a look to Jinmi-sama who shrugged.<br/><br/>"Bye Midori, I will come pick you up after class."<br/><br/>"I can walk back Jinmi-sama, I remember the way. Goodbye." That made the woman frown slightly, but shrug and wander out the door.<br/><br/>"Class is about to start, Midori. Why don't you wait up front here, and I'll introduce you when everyone comes in?"<br/><br/>Midori nodded, trying to hide her nervousness, though she began fidgeting enough that the movement of her shoulders upset Sunako, who whined loudly for such a small cat...<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/>Jinmi found herself in a quandary with Midori. The small girl was so formal, so unused to interacting with anyone other than Kenjiro, and sometimes Kanetaro, that it was almost painful to watch her try. Forever, the young girl was trying to follow the social rules her father had taught her: how to be polite, how to keep from offending others. But what the man hadn't realized is that the girl thought that was how you dealt with everyone and not just other merchants and businessmen. The girl hardly spoke unless spoken to, except when she was talking to that cat her father had given her. Jinmei did not think that was healthy either, that the only being the child felt comfortable talking to was her kitten.<br/><br/>Hopefully, a stable home environment and exposure to other children via the Academy would do her some good. Eventually, Jinmi wanted to be able to dress her more like a girl, and let her grow her hair out. The poor thing looked like a little boy right now, and would probably be teased about it for a while. But, the look on the little girl's face when she had taken her to one of the clothing stores yesterday and pointed out a dress let Jinmi know it would not be easy. And she did not want to force Midori into becoming what she thought a little girl should be; that would be the quickest way to ruin their relationship. Maybe, if she had a little girl, Midori would show some interest in feminine things as she introduced the baby to them. That would be nice...<br/><br/>____ ___ __ _<br/><br/>Midori's anxiety only grew as the children began filing into class and taking their seats. There weren't very many left untaken by the time class began.<br/><br/>"Okay class, listen up." Iruka-sensei began, raising his voice over the many children's voices. "This is Yuhara Midori. Midori will be joining our class as of today. Please be welcoming. Midori, you can take a seat." With his hand on her back, Iruka-sensei gave her a little push forward when she faltered, giving her the boost needed to wander up into the seats and take the first open one she found, near the aisle. Sitting quickly, Midori tucked the bento from Jinmi-sama under her seat, determined to pay attention and do well in class.<br/><br/>Iruka-sensei started with a review, probably because she was new and had not heard any of this before. That was even more reason to pay attention. The last thing she wanted was to be behind the other students just because she was new. Otousan had taught her a lot about reading and writing and many other subjects that he knew, but what Iruka was going over was completely new: chakra theory. That was definitely something to pay attention to. Why hadn't Otousan told her about this?<br/><br/>The lecture went on for most of the morning, Iruka-sensei would call on students occasionally to fill in answers, and Midori payed as best attention as she could. Sunako had climbed down from her shoulder to take a nap in her lap while class went on, but that small puppy one of the boys had with him might have something to do with that. But, the little dog did not stray from the boy, and Sunako stayed securely in her lap, so all was well. Eventually, they were released for lunch, and reminded to return within forty minutes for the rest of class.<br/><br/>Midori pulled her bento out from under her seat, intending to remain in the classroom to eat, but Iruka-sensei walked up to her. "Midori, you should go outside with the other children. Jinmi told me you have not yet made any friends in Konoha. Lunch time is a good time to meet people, and students are not allowed in the classrooms over the lunch break."<br/><br/>Heart sinking, the young girl nodded and stood, lifting Sunako as she did so, "Yes, Iruka-sensei." she murmured, gathering her lunch with her other hand, she wandered outside to the playground. There was a nice spot under one of the trees, a bit away from most of the rambunctious playing of the other students. That looked like a good spot to eat quietly. Once she made her way over, Midori sat down in the soft green grass, set the little furball down, and opened her lunch to see what Jinmi-sama had packed...</span></span>