The sun was just starting to peek over the trees, making everything look all golden and pretty. Kei squinted up at it and yawned so big his jaw made that weird clicking sound. His mom was already awake, of course, buzzing around the kitchen like she'd had ten cups of coffee.
"Kei! Kei, honey, wake up! You don't wanna be late on your first day, do you?"
He stumbled out of bed, his hair sticking up in like fifteen different directions. "M-mom, it's still dark outside..."
"No it's not! Look, the sun's coming up! Oh my baby's first day at the academy..." She was getting all teary-eyed again. She'd been doing that for the past week.
By the time they got to the western gate, the whole place was going crazy. Like, seriously crazy. There were kids everywhere, running around with their parents chasing after them, trying to fix their uniforms and stuff. The air smelled amazing though – someone was grilling mochi and it made Kei's stomach growl super loud.
"Oh no, oh no, did I pack your lunch? I packed your lunch, right?" His mom was digging through his backpack, pulling out scrolls and pencils and –
"Mom, you're making a mess—"
"Here it is! And I put extra rice balls in case you get hungry. And some of those little cookies you like. And—"
"Mom!" Kei was getting embarrassed because other kids were starting to stare. "I-I think that's enough food for like... three people."
His dad just stood there watching them with this little smile on his face. He wasn't much of a talker, but when he finally spoke up, he said, "Let the boy breathe, Yuki. He'll do fine."
Kei looked up at his dad – way, way up because man, his dad was tall – and his dad winked at him. Just a tiny wink, but it made Kei feel a little braver.
"Look at all these decorations!" His mom was pointing at the colorful banners hanging everywhere. "Oh, this is so exciting! Remember when you were just a tiny baby and I used to dream about this day and—"
"Mom, you're gonna make me cry too if you keep talking like that," Kei mumbled, but he was smiling.
That's when Keisuke came running over, practically bouncing off the walls. His uniform was already wrinkled and he had what looked like jam on his cheek.
"Kei! Kei! Did you see the training dummies? They have REAL training dummies! And I heard – I heard from my cousin who went here last year – that sometimes they let you throw actual kunai!"
"R-really?" Kei's eyes went wide. "Actual pointy ones?"
"Well... maybe not the super pointy ones. But still!" Keisuke was waving his arms around like crazy. "Oh, and my mom packed me these weird fish snacks that smell like... like feet. Want one?"
"Ew, no thanks."
"Come on, they're not that bad! My little sister ate three of them and she only threw up once!"
Kei made a face. "That's... that's not making them sound better, Keisuke."
They were both giggling when this other kid walked up. He was really quiet and kept looking at his shoes.
"Um... h-hi," the kid said. "I'm Taro. Is this... is this where we're supposed to wait?"
"Yeah!" Keisuke practically shouted, making Taro jump. "Sorry, sorry. I get loud when I'm excited. I'm Keisuke and this is Kei and we're gonna be the best ninjas ever!"
"W-well, maybe not the best ever," Kei said, feeling his cheeks get warm. "But we'll try really hard!"
Taro smiled a tiny bit. "I've never done any ninja stuff before. What if I'm terrible at it?"
"Then you'll be terrible with us!" Keisuke grinned. "My dad says being bad at something is the first step to being okay at something."
A girl with pigtails came bouncing over, literally bouncing on her toes. "Hi hi hi! I'm Minako! Look what I brought!" She held up a little glass jar with holes poked in the lid. Inside was the biggest, ugliest beetle Kei had ever seen.
"Oh... oh wow," Kei said, not sure if he should be impressed or grossed out. "That's... that's a really big bug."
"His name is Mr. Chompers! He likes to eat apple slices and sometimes he does little dances when I play music for him!"
Keisuke leaned in closer to look. "Does he bite?"
"Only if you're mean to him. But you don't look mean. You look... bouncy."
"I am bouncy! Watch!" And Keisuke did this weird hop-skip thing that made everyone laugh.
More kids kept showing up. There was this girl named Aya who talked so quietly you had to lean in to hear her, and this boy who wore like three scarves even though it wasn't cold.
"Aren't you hot?" Kei asked Scarf Boy.
"N-no, I just... I get cold easy. And my grandma knitted these for me and she said I have to wear them for good luck and... and I don't wanna disappoint her."
"That's really sweet," Minako said, still holding her beetle jar. "My grandma gave me Mr. Chompers! Well, not exactly gave... I found him in her garden and she said I could keep him if I promised to take good care of him."
The parents were all standing around in little groups, talking and pointing at their kids. Kei could hear his mom chatting with some other moms about lunch recipes and "how fast they grow up" and stuff like that.
Then one of the vendors started yelling really loud: "Fresh dango! Get your fresh dango! Sweet and sticky and perfect for brave little ninjas!"
"Oh oh oh, can we get some?" Minako asked, practically pressing her face against the glass of her beetle jar. "Mr. Chompers has never tried dango!"
"I don't think beetles eat dango," Taro said quietly.
"How do you know? Have you asked a beetle?"
Taro thought about this very seriously. "Well... no. I guess I haven't."
"See? Maybe Mr. Chompers is special!"
Kei was starting to relax a little. These kids seemed pretty nice, even if they were all kind of weird in their own ways. Which was okay because he was probably weird too.
"Hey," he said to the group, "do you guys know what we're actually gonna do today? Like, are we gonna learn real jutsu and stuff?"
"My brother said mostly it's just sitting and listening to teachers talk," Aya said in her whisper-voice. "But sometimes you get to practice throwing things."
"What kind of things?" Keisuke asked, bouncing again.
"Safe things. Like... foam kunai. And maybe sticks."
"Sticks are cool," Taro said. "I like sticks."
"What do you do with sticks?" Minako asked.
"Well... you can draw in the dirt with them. Or poke things. Or pretend they're swords."
"Oh! Sword fighting!" Keisuke started making whooshing noises and waving his arms around like he was in a big battle. "Take that, evil ninja! And that!"
"Shhh!" Kei looked around nervously. "What if the teachers think we're troublemakers?"
"Are we troublemakers?" Minako asked, looking confused.
"I... I don't think so? I mean, I've never made trouble on purpose."
"One time I accidentally broke my mom's favorite vase," Taro admitted quietly. "But I didn't mean to. I was just trying to catch a fly and I tripped."
"That's not really trouble," Aya said. "Trouble is when you do bad stuff because you want to."
"Yeah!" Keisuke agreed. "Like my little brother. He puts bugs in people's food because he thinks it's funny."
"Ew!" Minako clutched her beetle jar protectively. "Not Mr. Chompers though, right? Mr. Chompers would never!"
Just then, all the talking and laughing kind of stopped. Everyone turned to look at the academy doors, which were opening up really slow and dramatic-like.
"Oh wow," Kei whispered. "I think... I think the teachers are coming."
And they were. A whole line of them, walking out in their white coats, looking all serious and important. Kei felt his stomach do this weird flip-flop thing.
"M-maybe I should go home," Taro whispered. "Maybe I'm not ready for this."
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Kei said, surprising himself by being the one to speak up. "We're all scared. But we're scared together, right?"
"Right!" Minako said, way too loud. Then she covered her mouth with her free hand. "Sorry. I get loud when I'm nervous."
"I get quiet when I'm nervous," Aya said, barely audible.
"I get bouncy," Keisuke added, doing a little hop.
"I get... scarf-y," said Scarf Boy, wrapping another scarf tighter around his neck.
They all looked at each other and started giggling, even though they were still nervous. It was like they had this secret now – they were all scared, but at least they weren't scared alone.
The teachers stopped in front of all the kids and parents. One of them, a guy with a really serious face, started to say something, but then he smiled and it made him look way less scary.
"Welcome, future ninjas," he said. "Though I guess you're not ninjas yet, are you?"
Some of the parents laughed. The kids weren't sure if they should laugh too, so it came out as this weird giggling-snorting sound.
But then this lady teacher stepped forward, and she was different from the others. She moved kind of like she was dancing, all smooth and graceful. Her hair was silver-white and shiny, and when she looked at them, it was like she was looking at something really precious.
"Hello, little ones," she said, and her voice was warm like hot chocolate. "I'm Lady Mizuki. I've been waiting to meet all of you."
She walked over to their little group, and Kei felt like his heart was gonna jump right out of his chest. When she stopped in front of him, she knelt down so they were the same height.
"And you must be Kei," she said softly. "Your parents have told me wonderful things about you."
"Th-they have?" Kei's voice came out all squeaky. "What... what kind of things?"
"They told me you're kind to your friends. And that you ask really good questions. And that you once rescued a kitten from a tree."
Kei's face turned bright red. "It... it wasn't that high up. And the kitten was just stuck, and..."
"Being brave doesn't mean you're not scared," Lady Mizuki said gently. "It means you do the right thing even when you are scared."
She stood up and looked at all of them – Kei and Keisuke and Taro and Minako and Aya and Scarf Boy and all the other kids.
"Today isn't just about starting school," she said. "Today is about starting your journey together. You're going to learn amazing things. You're going to become stronger and smarter and braver. But most importantly, you're going to become friends."
Kei looked around at the other kids. Friends. Real friends, not just kids from the neighborhood. The thought made him feel all warm and tingly.
"Now," Lady Mizuki said with a smile, "shall we go inside and begin?"
All the kids started lining up, though it was more like controlled chaos. Some kids forgot which way to face. Others were too busy waving at their parents. Minako was trying to introduce Mr. Chompers to the girl standing next to her.
"Everyone ready?" Lady Mizuki asked.
"Yes, sensei!" they all shouted, though it came out at different times and volumes, so it sounded more like "YES sen- yes! SENSEI! Yes sensei!"
Lady Mizuki laughed – a real, happy laugh. "Perfect. Absolutely perfect."
As they started walking toward the academy doors, Kei felt someone grab his hand. It was Keisuke, grinning at him.
"This is gonna be awesome," Keisuke whispered.
On his other side, Taro was walking really carefully, like he was afraid he might trip. "Do you really think we can do this?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," Kei said, and he was surprised to find that he actually meant it. "Yeah, I think we can."
Behind them, Minako was chatting to anyone who would listen about Mr. Chompers' favorite foods, and Aya was quietly humming a little song, and Scarf Boy was making sure all his scarves were properly arranged.
They were a weird little group, but they were his weird little group now.
And as they walked through those big academy doors, with the morning sun streaming in behind them and the smell of mochi still in the air, Kei thought maybe – just maybe – this was going to be the best adventure ever.
Even if he did trip over his own feet twice on the way to their first classroom.