- No! No, no, no, no, no! Never! I will never back down on that!

- Listen to me! There are other choices! (Sister Kasumi)

- Not for me! I want to be a shinobi!

- You have a weaker body than most of the other kids and fall sick easily! I know that you want to be a shinobi but there are other choices that will probably better fit for you. (Sister Kasumi)

How did things get so heated?

Well, as soon as Homura came back, he went to see sister Kasumi.

He didn't want it, but he didn't have much choice.

The orphanage was the place where he lived and grew in, but it wasn't his house per se.

He didn't make the rules and had to follow the rules of the people actually running the place.

By now Homura, was probably in his late teens or a young adult if we were to combine his 2 lives together.

But in reality, he was really just a kid, with an abundance of knowledge from his previous life, at best his mental age was of a 10 to a 12-year-old boy.

So, similar to a child about to enter puberty he craved more independence than anyone else within the orphanage, not that anyone would be able to tell that the reason for his misbehavior had such origins.

Thus, to most, Homura was simply a badly behaved brat with an inclination to rebel against any authority figure... which was not a great look for a shinobi to have.

Thus, he always caved in and agreed to do whatever he was told in the end; as to seem too unruly and get afflicted with more troublesome repercussions.

However this time it was different Sister Kasumi had tried to dissuade Homura from being a shinobi.

She never thought that he would ever get to apply or much less ever be chosen to go to the academy, since to her, he was just a lazy brat with a bad temper... but in some weird way, he was also similar to a cheeky little brother.

She had never believed that he would go through with his claims because he had a history of giving up things easily, as soon as they got too troublesome.

However, Homura had applied to go to the academy and was really preparing himself to go through the whole ordeal.

Homura was not the only child with whom she had misgivings about going to the academy.

But Homura's case was a bit different.

He was shorter than most boys his age.

Technically he still is, but the gap is not as outrageous as it was before.

Not only that, but he also had a weak constitution and a history of getting sick easily.

Little did she know that the last reason was due to Homura injecting himself with the blood and other DNA tissues from others that had caused him to become sick several times in the past few years.

Coupled with his rash attitude and recklessness, you have all the signs of a child with a bleak future ahead of him.

Only a tragic and gruesome death awaited him, in the crazy world of shinobis.

She already knew of former orphans whom she had cared for, who died in the field of action, when they became shinobis. So, she knew all too well what kinds of danger the job of being a shinobi entailed.

That and the fact that him being alive today was nothing short of a miracle due to the circumstances of his birth, for him to squander it all by becoming a shinobi was to spit into the faces of his dead parents, or at the very least to his late mother.

So, she had to put her foot down and dissuade the boy so as to not let this idea of being a shinobi become more prevalent than it had been in the past. She already had failed to let the idea take root within his mind in the past, but now things would be far more serious if Homura somehow managed to make the cut in the academy.

This was not too unlikely, since at times more children pass the test; since they have a quota to fill.

As a resident of a ninja village, this was something that she could nothing about.

It was simply, the harsh truth of their world.

- Listen Homura! Being a shinobi is not all fun and games. It is pretty hard! Just a few months ago; you could barely write and do your homework! When you become a shinobi you have to read and write a lot and sometimes; it can be very complex things or it is written in code. Do you really want to go through all that?!(Sister Kasumi)

- Urgh! I-I am not illiterate! I just had a hard time before but I will manage something!

- you're good with numbers and quick to think on your feet. Why not work at a restaurant, or do an apprenticeship in something to do with business? Or you could work in sciences in the future, or even try to work as a teacher and teach others within the village. What do you say?(Sister Kasumi)

-No! Math is corny! And for losers! That can't breathe fire! Not me! I am going to be Hokage!!! Believe it! ( Good with numbers?! What am I going to do with that besides doing something with math? Become an accountant? I can't believe that I am forced to take a page out of Naruto's book, so I can sound like a brain-dead idiot like all the other children who say such cr*p!)

Becoming Hokage is incredibly unlikely for anyone within the village to become, because how one becomes Hokage is almost impossible. Since there's almost no clear way one can go about becoming one.

They know that since the 4th was hailed as a hero and achieved great fame in the war, and due to the discontentment over the 3rd Hokage at the time after the war, he was forced to abdicate.

That was the 1st precedent in the entire history of the village since Hokages usually die in their role so they never had to wonder how much politics was a factor.

So, even the people within the village aren't exactly too sure about the entire process but they all know that it is not just about strength but has also to do with the politics within the village or other things... but strength is an undeniable factor, but to achieve such level of strength, most people are even unsure how to go about.

General people aren't even truly aware of the scope of what shinobis can do.

Most people aren't even sure how strong the current Hokage is, but they do believe that he should be stronger than the Sannin who are hailed or were hailed as the strongest shinobis within the village for a very long time.

That was mostly until they stopped being active or just stopped being in the limelight with all that happened to them.

The newer generation was starting to forget who they were due to how long ago it was, though many still remember.

- Did you even hear yourself?! I know that you don't really want to be Hokage! Don't lie to me! I know you better than you think! (Sister Kasumi)

-....(What!? What is that supposed to mean!?) Whatever! I am going to be a shinobi anyway! I've already applied! Give up!

- Not until you give up first! (Sister Kasumi)

Both of these parties were very hard-headed, this conversation had been going on for more than 30 minutes already and the same points were being exchanged several times.

-...*sigh*Homura listen, I know that you're a very smart child everyone thinks so. You even started to better in kanji classes, so I know that you understand the risks of being a shinobi... people die. Children like you die all the time in the field of battle.(Sister Kasumi)

-...

- You may have heard stories of great shinobis in the past, but the reality is...that most of those tales, mostly stand on the sacrifices of countless unsung others.(Sister Kasumi)

-...Being a shinobi is all I can do, in order to have a certain degree of freedom and to learn more about myself... and venture to the outside world. (The village isn't as safe as you think, lady! There's "Pain" out there! Pain!)

- Or become a merchant? You'd get to explore outside the village like that too.(Sister Kasumi)

-Oh, really?! That's better-Of course not! That's worse! Not only do I have to work with numbers all day long but have worry to about not getting murdered by bandits, missing-nins, and giant monsters every time I take a step outside of the goddamn village!

-Language!... Homura, the world may be a dangerous place and I know that you have felt that your life is unfair. But what would your parents think if the only thing you have in mind is a career that would put your life in danger? (Sister Kasumi)

- M-my parents!?

-...Yes, Homura...W-What would your mother think... If she knew that you can only think of doing something with your life that could put you in constant danger? (Sister Kasumi)

Sister Kasumi did not want to bring up Homura's parents into the frame, but this being something that could possibly get him killed, she saw no other way.

-....(I-I never thought about that...)

- We've never told you this before, but your mother died in a conflict that was due...in part because of matters involving shinobis. For all we know, she could have been alive today if not for what happened on that fateful day and maybe the same would be true for your father too. (Sister Kasumi)

-...do you know my parents?

-...No, I am sorry. (Sister Kasumi)

- T-That's obvious after all, hahaha...(The situation seems so tense for a moment, that you could use a knife to cut it. If it was the usual me, I'd try to make a joke and I'd ask her if she was my mom, but I am not as thickheaded as Chocho or Sarada who can't tell who their parents are at first glance... and overall common sense. It would be super messed up! If my mother pretended to not be my mother for my entire life and lived this close to me the whole time.)

- But I know that if they were alive today, they would love you for everything you turned out to be.(Sister Kasumi)

-... I see( ...well, that is good. R-right, I find it hard to believe that she would tell me anything about them all this time. Plus... I-I didn't want to get murdered anyway...Hahaha...!? A-am I forgetting something?... Right! The Uchihas! I have been so busy lately that most stuff just passed me by. I knew I was forgetting something important! I will need to come up with a solution soon, at least something that could protect Takao and granny Akane... but there's still time.)

His and the lives of all the others that he cared for, even if he could not admit it to himself, was the main reason why he wanted to become a shinobi.

However, Homura was just too stupid and petty to fully acknowledge his feelings... but mostly, he didn't want to get hurt... not again.

- So, you see? How about we think about this more in-depth, together? There's still time and other options available for you in the future? (Sister Kasumi)

-....Uh...no.(No way! Especially not after you tried to guilt me into giving up! Using an orphan's parents to achieve your goals...that's low and desperate...Even for someone like me! Besides...I don't really want to be a shinobi that much...I really just don't have much of a choice! But saying that out loud, would only open another can of worms.)

-....Homura...You!(Sister Kasumi)

Homura was among the most stubborn of all the children she had to raise so far.

He was one of her first so she did not know how to truly proceed at the time and she feels somewhat responsible for how he turned out due to her lack of experience at the time.

Little did she know that she hadn't done anything truly wrong, but he did gain a lot of her traits.

Such as minor things such as his speech behavior in saying words such as "Like" a lot.

Or the fact he would easily lose his temper as well, but try to put on a forced smile.

But also many of her positive traits.

Such as her perseverance and her especially her strong-willed spirit.

Due to their similarities, but opposite views; it was harsh for them to ever find a consensus or a compromise.

So the conversation(?) or perhaps debate at this point, between Homura and sister Kasumi lasted almost 2 whole hours with both parties never giving up.

Sister Kasumi never conceded to Homura's decision but there was little that she could do.

She could not stop the exams, and could only try to dissuade some of the orphans that she had a better relationship with, or who were too weak in her opinion to stand the harshness of the training involved in becoming shinobi, or the mental repercussions.

She wasn't the only one who tried to do as much, sisters at the orphanage would try to find potential career paths for many of the children within the orphanage rather than letting these children go to the academy.

Not just because it was dangerous but also the lack of available seats.

It pained her that she had to choose to focus her full attention on a select few of the children at the orphanage, but she was only a single human being making her limited in what she could accomplish, and at the end of the day she was a resident of a shinobi village.

The children in the orphanage had all lived a hard life, and there was not much else that she could do besides ease their pain and hope for a better and happier future for them. 

But she was fully aware of her reality.

There simply wasn't much she could actually achieve in those conditions.

Chapter end

 

*Hope, you like this chapter. It delves a bit more in Homura's relationships. Since he is about to become an academy student it will be the end of this locale. I regret not fleshing out the orphanage more and the people living in it...But it would have been quite boring and taken a lot of time in doing so... If I had to rewrite that is most of my problems with the first arc. But Konoha is so big, that it is hard to fit all in, I was only able to place 7 locations on the map. *