When the break bell rang, the room quickly filled with noise.
Children got up from their chairs, grabbed their lunchboxes, opened the wrapping cloths and looked for their friends to sit next to. The smell of rice, grilled fish, miso and sweets began to mix in the air like a small storm.
I too carefully opened my lunchbox. Inside was perfectly shaped rice with black sesame sprinkled on top, neatly cut pieces of tamagoyaki, chicken meatballs made with a slightly sweet and sour sauce, vegetables sautéed to just the right point, and apple slices in the shape of rabbits.
Although it was no longer as hot as when I prepared it, the smell still rose immediately, awakening my senses.
Honestly, eating this food every day, I gradually began to wonder whether I should follow the path of a Ninja or a chef, as eating something this good was almost as satisfying as getting stronger every day.
Kakashi, sitting next to me, also opened his lunchbox.
The food was well done, with rice, vegetables, grilled fish with a light golden crust, clearly prepared by Sakumo with care. But even so... Kakashi's eyes were immediately drawn to mine.
He tried to disguise it by looking straight ahead. Then he pretended to fiddle with his chopsticks, then looked the other way, and then... back at my lunchbox.
Finally, I couldn't stand it and let out a low chuckle as I asked, "Do you want to change a bit?"
Kakashi's eyes widened as if I'd said something indecent. "No need!" He answered quickly and a little too loudly, looking away. "My father's food is enough."
"I just wanted to eat the food made by the White Wolf of Konoha again. Your father's food was very tasty that day." I said in a calm tone, picking up a chicken ball and biting into it slowly. "But if you think you can't handle my food, fine..."
Kakashi frowned, clearly annoyed by the comment. "Tsk... it's not that."
He held out his chopsticks and took a piece of tamagoyaki from my lunchbox, trying to disguise his hesitation, brought it to his mouth, chewed... and stopped.
For a moment, the world seemed to fall silent around him.
"That's... very good!" He said with wide eyes.
"I know." I smiled with satisfaction.
Shocked, he looked at me without stopping chewing. "Where did you buy this? I don't think I've ever been to that store."
Smiling even more proudly, I replied, "I made it myself."
The sentence hung in the air for a second.
The students who had been paying attention to us, either because of our appearance or because of the smell of my food, seemed to freeze for an instant.
Even Rin, Kurenai, Obito, Asuma and even Guy, who were pretending not to look at us, were surprised by the response.
Kakashi looked at me sideways, as if trying to assess whether I was lying. But there was too much sincerity in my tone, and too much confidence in the way I chewed my own food.
"You cooked this... by yourself?" he asked, now with a little more astonishment in his voice than he wanted to show.
"I think I'm good enough at calculating proportions and preparation time." I said it as if it were obvious. "No big deal."
Kakashi remained silent, but I saw his gaze drop to my lunchbox again. And then... he took another piece.
And then another.
And another.
And I let him.
While he was eating from my lunchbox, I also took pieces of food from his lunchbox and ate them with gusto.
Although the food didn't taste as good as the food I made, the care that Sakumo put into it was a special spice that I still didn't know how to make.
Looking around and seeing so many people staring at us with mouths watering, I smiled and waved to them as I spoke. "Guys, your lunchboxes look pretty tasty too, does anyone else want to share food with me?" I asked.
Hearing my question, Obito and Asuma quickly turned their faces away in embarrassment, not wanting to admit that they wanted to try my food.
Even more so after learning that I had made this food, this made them even more resistant to tasting it, as if their pride wouldn't allow it.
But when Rin and Kurenai got up and walked towards me, the two of them didn't think twice about getting up too and coming with them, mentally stating that it was only to 'protect the girls'.
Guy resisted for a while longer, not out of pride at not wanting to eat my food, but out of shame at the simple food in his lunchbox.
As his father was only a Genin, his meals were as simple and nutritious as his father could afford.
But when he saw me looking at him with a sympathetic smile, Guy hesitantly got up and walked over to us with a red face.
Soon we were surrounded.
Rin arrived with calm steps and a curious, shy smile on her face.
Kurenai followed close behind, holding her lunchbox with both hands in anticipation.
"Did you really do all this?" Rin asked, crouching down beside me.
"Yes, I did." I replied, offering a piece of the meatball with the hashis. "You can try it."
Kurenai also sat down nearby, watching Kakashi sidelong as he stretched out her lunchbox, as if he wanted to change but didn't know how to ask.
I smiled and took a piece of her rice, putting one of my rabbit-shaped apple slices in its place.
She stared at the apple in silence for a few seconds before letting out a low chuckle and thanking me.
Obito and Asuma arrived soon after, pretending not to be interested.
"Tch... are you going to eat a stranger's food, Rin?" Obito asked with an arched eyebrow, but sat down directly next to her.
"He's not a stranger, he's our classmate, Obito. And he did it all by himself!" Despite being kind, Rin replied with the firm tone of someone who wouldn't take any offense.
Obito snorted, but when I offered him a piece of tamagoyaki, he took it and ate it so quickly that it looked like he was going to bite into the hashis.
Asuma also approached, feigning casualness as he placed his lunchbox next to mine. We exchanged small pieces and he made a point of pretending he wasn't impressed, but he continued eating faster than before.
And then came Guy.
He approached slowly, his steps a little hesitant, his face red and his eyes downcast. He held his lunchbox tightly, but there was a tightness there, not shame at the food, but a childish fear of being judged for it.
"Hey, your name's Guy, right?" I called out calmly, pointing to the free space next to me. "Come eat with us."
He looked up, his eyes shining with excitement, and nodded vigorously. "Thank you, Enzai! I... will eat with as much of the spirit of youth as I can!"
Kakashi let out a discreet sigh, but was smiling with his eyes. He didn't look like the kind of person who was used to this kind of mess.
Soon we were all there, laughing, exchanging food, trying different flavors, and for a moment, I felt... belonging.
In my past life, my first day at school had been lonely.
In this world, even without a family... I wasn't alone, which was already a great reason to come to this world.
Kurenai turned to me with a shy smile. "Since you let me eat the food you made, I'll learn to cook from my mother and make you some food as a thank you, Kazuki-san."
Before I could answer, Asuma intruded in shock. "Hey! Why are you going to cook for him?"
Kurenai just ignored Asuma's question and looked at me expectantly. I nodded at her and smiled. "I'd love to try the food you prepare, Kurenai-san."
This made the little girl crack a huge smile and go back to eating excitedly, while Asuma looked between us in horror.
Seeing this, Obito became worried and asked hesitantly. "What about you, Rin? What did you think?"
Rin didn't think twice and smiled. "This is the best food I've ever eaten! I'm also going to learn to cook from my mother so I can exchange it with you as a thank you, Kazuki-san."
Obito choked a little on his rice.
Kakashi, who had been eating in silence until then, stopped for a moment and looked at me.
"You're weird." He said.
"Why?" I asked confusedly, still laughing.
But Kakashi didn't explain and just went back to eating.
Seeing our group eating, other students also approached to try my food.
Some students were part of big clans, others were civilian ninjas, but regardless of where they came from, I treated them all equally, paying attention to everything they said.
Considering how chaotic children are, when they spoke to me and I listened carefully to what they said, they felt very good, almost interrupting themselves to try to talk to me.
- Hokage Tower -
Hiruzen Sarutobi was standing with his hands folded behind his back, calmly observing the Telescope Technique with a moving image of Classroom 1A at the Ninja Academy.
"So this is the group of the future..." He muttered, lighting his pipe with a small fire seal on two fingers.
He had started watching out of sheer curiosity, after all, this was the class that brought together the most promising names of this generation.
Sakumo Hatake's son, the heiress Yuuhi, the heir Kazuki, an Uchiha, and of course... the Hokage's son.
But now, more than curiosity, what he felt was mild astonishment.
"Look at you... Enzai." he whispered, blowing the smoke to the side as the boy laughed, surrounded by an ever-widening circle of children.
The image on the parchment showed Enzai exchanging food with Kakashi, smiling naturally, joking with Guy, talking as equals with children from different clans, listening to every word spoken by the children around him as if they were important.
Instead of just dominating the group, the boy was making everyone feel good, feel part of it... that's a rare skill even in adults!
His eyebrows creased slightly as his gaze stopped on Asuma.
The boy stood there, chewing slowly, looking crookedly at Kurenai as if she had betrayed him by smiling at Kazuki.
"Asuma..." muttered Hiruzen, with a slight tone of disappointment. "You need to grow up more than that."
It was hard not to make comparisons.
Enzai lived alone, coming from an extinct clan. A boy rebuilding everything from scratch, with no parental figures, no family structure... and yet, there he was.
Polite, skillful, calm, gathering children around him as if it were the most natural thing in the world?
A true natural leader.
And for a moment, Hiruzen found himself wondering: Was this what Tobirama-sensei saw in me, in those ancient days?
The old Hokage shook his head slightly, pushing away sentimental thoughts. Even for someone as experienced as him, Enzai was... different.
To be on the safe side, Enzai's abilities had been personally reviewed by him and two ANBU members. Even so, apart from going out less to play and spending more time training, the boy showed nothing much.
Hiruzen took his pipe out of his mouth and walked back to the table.
Looking at how the boy was acting, Hiruzen couldn't help but remember Minato, who despite being known as the 'Sun of Konoha', wasn't as popular as Enzai on the first day of school.
This aroused Hiruzen's curiosity.
--------
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this story. Please let me know what you think and what ideas you had while reading it in the comments. This will really help me keep writing and will motivate me a lot!
Depending on the story's reception, I'm considering setting bonus chapter goals based on the power stones you send.
Please also review the story!
Thank you very much and see you tomorrow!