The Festival of Flowers had begun once again. Arashi enjoyed this festival, with its colorful lanterns and the constant dropping of flower petals and just the overall cheerfulness. For the last three years he and his mother spent plenty of time decorating the shop with hand-painted lanterns and ornate tapestries featuring the famous flowers found in the Land of Fire. This year was slightly different however; because this time he wasn't permitted to stay up late decorating. Why? Because tomorrow he starts his training at the ninja academy! His parents were probably annoyed with him at this point considering he hadn't stopped talking about his excitement since the previous week. But nevertheless they listened intently and humored his enthusiastic disposition. 

So the night before, Arashi ate a large meal and helped his mother and father finish decorating. Then his father, Kenshin Sarutobi, took him outside to talk with him. The sky was a beautiful mixture of gold and purple as the sun slowly receded behind the mountains. And the street outside the shop was brightly lit by mesmerizing lanterns of all shapes and colors. Arashi rode atop his father's broad shoulders as they traversed the busy street looking for a good place to sit and chat. Eventually Arashi pointed out an empty bench near a swing set and his father jokingly trampled over pretending to be some sort of fierce beast. He placed Arashi on the swing and leaned against the support bar watching his son rock back and forth. Arashi noticed his father smiling at the sky and asked, "What are you thinking, pops?"

"I'm very proud of you, Arashi." The statement caught Arashi off guard and he meekly responded with a quiet, "Thanks, dad." His father looked down at Arashi and ruffled his hair a bit. 

"I really am, son. You've made a lot of progress. Ha! You're almost as strong as me now!" He let out a hearty laugh. Arashi jumped off the swing and pointed confidently at Kenshin. 

"Hey! You're over here trying to tell jokes, but one day I will be as strong as you. Maybe even stronger," Arashi replied with a smug smile, his arms now folded against his chest. Kenshin paused for a moment, then laughed again. 

"We'll see about that, shorty!" Arashi closed his eyes and let out an angry snort. But suddenly he was picked up and thrown in the air; his eyes opened wide from the shock but by the time he landed in his father's grasp he was laughing as well. The two of them wrestled for a few minutes more before returning home, where his mother was waiting impatiently. She rushed Arashi into the bathroom to clean himself and prepare for bed. After Arashi finished his nightly routine, he went to his room where his mother was now sitting on his bed. 

"You okay, mom?" She smiled, but had tears in her eyes. "Mom?!"

"Oh I'm fine, Arashi." She sighed. "You're just growing up so fast. I can't believe tomorrow is your first day at the Academy." Arashi chuckled to himself while scratching the back of his head as if he were a comical character in some cheesy anime series. His mother suddenly hugged Arashi close to her for a solid minute, in which Arashi felt uncomfortable and attempted to fidget his way out of her hold. Finally she let go and her entire persona changed in an instant. "Alright, mister! Into bed. You've got a bust day ahead of you tomorrow and you need your sleep. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!" Arashi was taken aback. He could never get used to her not-so-subtle changes from sweet and caring to strict and demanding. He hopped into bed and threw the covers over himself. "Do your best tomorrow, Arashi," his mother said under her breath before switching off the lights and leaving the room. Arashi had his eyes closed tight trying to sleep, but his mind was alive with thought. [i]I wonder if I'll know anyone in class. Who will our sensei be? Will I do well?[/i] But as often is the case, he eventually conked out and slept like a baby. 

The next day...

Springing to life, Arashi jumped out of bed and immediately began preparing for the day! He changed into his day attire in a flash and dashed downstairs to eat breakfast. He scarfed down his food within minutes. Surprisingly he was still able to talk while eating so he was answering a random assortment of daily questions his mother routinely posed to him. Things like: Did you put on clean underwear? Did your new shoes fit properly? Did you see your father upstairs? Arashi quickly answered each with monotone yes or no answers before emptying his bowl completely and putting his dish in the sink. His father had made it downstairs now to say his farewells to Arashi and his mother. Kenshin had a received a mission a few days before and it was finally time to set off. Kissing both his wife and son before leaving, Kenshin waved goodbye as Arashi watched from the door waving back. Then it was Arashi's turn to leave! His mother was droning on about being respectful and minding his manners but Arashi was too excited to pay much attention. He broke away from the conversation as he saw other children walking in the direction of the Academy. "Bye mom, see ya later," Arashi exclaimed! He met up with some familiar faces and they set on their first day of school.

The process was actually fairly quick and organized. Within a mere 10 minutes or so, Arashi was sitting in a classroom staring down his new sensei. They introduced themselves as Kaede and Aoki. Two instructors, one for the girls and one for the boys. Arashi was incredibly excited and it showed. He could hardly sit still on his small cushion, and his fingers quietly tapped away at the desk. 

"Now, once you are ready, please introduce yourself and tell us about your goal for your future career as a proud member of the Konoha Shinobi Forces." [i]Oh yeah! Here we go,[/i] Arashi thought as he stood up with an overly erect posture.

"My name is Sarutobi Arashi. I'm a member of the famed Sarutobi clan and my family owns the local supply shop near the village entrance! My main goal is to become a great ninja, a Jounin like my dad. He's probably the best ninja in the whole Village! Besides... like, the Hokage, I guess. But yeah, I'm going to work hard to be the best," Arashi would say confidently ending his speech with a very unnecessary thumbs up gesture that he held for way too long.