Ah, the sweetness of sleep...
"His eyelashes are so long..."
Warm, radiant sunbeams pierced through the window's tulle curtain. Thanks to the Tyndall effect, shafts of light danced across the sleeping boy's face, one after another, weaving whimsical patterns upon his skin.
"And his lashes are silver, too!"
The girls stole glances at him, whispering amongst themselves from time to time.
"What's the big deal!" The boys drilled into him with fiery glares, grinding their teeth in frustration.
"And his skin is so fair! Like a baby's!"
The pursuit of beauty is an innate human instinct. And gossip is the highest form of communicative skill that humanity has mastered. The only difference between the sexes is that men spend two-thirds of their time talking about themselves. For example: "How did you know the fish I caught weighed ten kilos?" (Now you know, a full ten kilos). Women, on the other hand, are more interested in others. For example: "Did you know, when I saw her last time, she had gained a whole ten kilos?"
Therefore, the boys in the class held no particular affection for Inuzuka Ryōto. To be precise, at this very moment, all of them, as if by some unspoken agreement, felt a subtle hostility toward him. Most of the boys sat with scowling faces. Only Might Guy, failing to grasp the situation, was diligently listening to the teacher, sweat beading on his brow, while Hatake Kakashi merely thought about how noisy women were. Was the teacher not going to do anything? He disliked it, and so he sat up straight, listening attentively to the lesson, though he had long since known it all.
At that moment, a sweet little head peeked through the doorway.
"Come in..."
The teacher didn't particularly scold him, which somewhat surprised Uchiha Obito, who had already prepared his excuses. Smiling awkwardly, he took his seat. Soon, his gaze fell upon Nohara Rin. She was so beautiful. Then, following her shy, furtive glance, he looked at Ryōto. Obito stared long and hard at Ryōto, then his eyes shifted back to Rin. And the more he thought, the angrier he became!
"Aaaah! Teacher! I have to report something! Inuzuka Ryōto is sleeping in class!"
"What are you doing, Obito?!" all the girls mentally exclaimed, shooting him withering glares as they thought, "So what if Ryōto-kun dozed off a little!"
"Nicely done! Obito, was it? You have my respect!" the boys thought, their eyes lighting up as they stared at Obito in unison.
The good-natured teacher only felt a headache coming on. Let Sato-sensei deal with this; he was just a subject teacher. Besides, there were too many children from shinobi clans in the class. When these children started acting willfully, there was nothing he could do.
The teacher's gaze fell on Ryōto. The son of the Inuzuka Clan head. Then he looked at Sarutobi Asuma, who was looking at him with hope. The son of the Third Hokage. After that, his gaze shifted to Kakashi. The class president, son of the White Fang of Konoha, head of the Hatake clan, and one of the top candidates for the next Hokage.
Then he scanned the rest, recalling the notes in the class register. Princess Tsunade's student from the Legendary Sannin, Shizune. The student of the cold Lord Orochimaru from the Legendary Sannin, Mitarashi Anko. The daughter of the head of intelligence and master of genjutsu and torture, Yūhi Shinku, none other than Yūhi Kurenai. The new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, the fifteenth in line, consisting of two girls and one boy, already huddled together. The blond-haired boy from the Yamanaka Clan, squeezed between them, looked extremely displeased. They were the black-haired girl with a high ponytail and an open forehead, Nara Shigure, that same boy, Yamanaka Senku, and a round-faced, lovely girl with two pigtails, Akimichi Ren.
The classroom was arranged like a lecture hall, with desks for three set in tiers. Next to Ryōto, who sat by the wall, with one empty seat between them, sat a frail-looking, elegant young lady in a kimono by the aisle. This was Kurama Miyoko from the Kurama Clan, which had once been as renowned as the Uchiha Clan but had suffered heavy losses in the Second Shinobi World War. Right now, a faint irritation was written on her face because everyone, both boys and girls, was ignoring her. She hadn't even glanced at Ryōto once. How to put it... she felt both hurt and puzzled. "Am I not beautiful?" The teacher didn't quite understand her feelings, but he could see she was displeased.
Similar to her in mannerisms, but with his nose held high in the air, was the arrogant young master from the main branch of the illustrious Hyūga Clan, Hyūga Kiyoshi. If the Senju Clan hadn't disbanded in the middle of the Second Shinobi World War, its members gradually hiding their names and dissolving into the general population of Konoha, then this luxurious lineup might have included one of them as well. "No..." the teacher adjusted his glasses. "There's surely a Senju child here. It's just unknown who. Besides, Senju attract Uchiha, so whoever argues the loudest with Obito is probably the one. Probably... And also..."
The teacher's gaze fell on the empty seat next to Ryōto. This student had not yet appeared in class; there was no information about them, not even whether they were a boy or a girl. It seemed they were no simple person. Shifting his gaze, he noticed an inconspicuous girl in the corner. He almost forgot, the Aburame Clan was here too. The presence-hiding technique of the Aburame Clan was truly astonishing.
Finally, the teacher's gaze settled on Obito. "You, a simple fool from the Uchiha Clan, don't even realize you've been used as a pawn. You could have picked on anyone, but not Rin-senpai's offspring. It's not yet clear what Ryōto's personality is like, but if this isn't handled properly, enmity will be inevitable!"
"Um... Obito-kun..."
At that moment, the bell for recess rang. The teacher adjusted his glasses and said:
"Class dismissed!"
And without hesitation, he turned and left. Realizing there would be no spectacle, some of the boys sighed in disappointment. Obito wanted to stop the teacher and even reached out a hand.
But Ryōto immediately shot up. Without asking Miyoko to move aside or even glancing at her, he nimbly vaulted over the desk and dashed out of the classroom. A vein throbbed on Miyoko's forehead. "What an ill-mannered boy!"
"E-ehhh!!!" exclaimed the girls who had wanted to befriend him, watching his retreating figure. He was running too fast.
Nohara Rin, who had not taken her eyes off him this whole time, followed without a second thought. She had so many questions. "What did your kiss yesterday mean?"
"How bold..." Kurenai murmured with a smile, watching the scene and taking out her textbook for the next lesson. "She looks smart, but Rin is actually a bit simple."
Seeing this, Obito instinctively wanted to give chase. But... "Why should I run after him?!" With his mouth open, Obito plopped back into his seat in anger. He didn't even understand what he was angry about. "But that guy, Ryōto... I hate him!!!"
"Idiot..." Kakashi looked at the turned-away Obito. "And this is an Uchiha? I got my hopes up for nothing. The Uchiha aren't as strong as Father said."
Running out of the classroom, Rin wanted to call out to Ryōto, but she came to her senses in the hallway. "So many people are watching, is it proper for me to call him? It's not! I'm a girl, I have my pride too!" Her cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head, chasing after Ryōto. The scene was reminiscent of yesterday after class, but Ryōto was running so fast that Rin had to pick up her pace. "What is he going to do in a ten-minute break? Surely not the restroom? If so, I'll just run past as if nothing happened," Rin bit her lip. "I can't just wait for him at the restroom entrance, can I? That's too embarrassing!"
Ryōto glanced back as he ran and saw Rin desperately pursuing him. "Look at her, blushing like that. Does she really need the restroom that badly? Silly girl, she should have asked to be excused during class. Girls are so shy," he thought and, turning away, continued to race on.
Ryōto ran out into the schoolyard, rounded the building, and, without slowing down, headed for the high fence. In a flash, he deftly scaled the wall and stood on its crest.
"Huh?" Rin, having reached the spot, tilted her head up and stared at him, dumbfounded. The wall was too high; she couldn't climb it!
By a window of the school building, the teacher, smoking a cigarette, witnessed Ryōto's entire ascent. "What a polished technique," he thought, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Walking on walls with chakra is a technique that not even all the sixth-graders in the Academy have mastered. But!"
"Hey!!! You little brat, what do you think you're doing!!!" the teacher shouted loudly.
Go to class? No way. Only by skipping can one maintain a certain quality of life. And why? Simply because it's fun. Ryōto paid the teacher no mind. Only now did he get a good look at Rin's face and recognize her. "What's she tagging along for?" After a moment's thought, he decided not to dwell on it. The main thing was to have nothing to do with her.
Lifting his head toward the teacher on the upper floor, Ryōto gave a dazzling smile and shouted:
"Listen everyone! My name is Uchiha Obito! Breaking the rules is my ninja way!"
"What?" Rin's mouth fell open involuntarily.
Hearing this, the teacher raised an eyebrow and extinguished his cigarette. "Since you're provoking me like this, I can't just stand by. Obito, is it."
Ryōto looked down at Rin, smiled, and gave a salute as he said his farewell:
"Bye-bye!"
He leaned back, and his figure swiftly disappeared behind the wall.
Standing beneath the wall, Rin, blushing, stared at the spot where Ryōto had just been. "What a bad boy he is... But..." Her face was burning, and she stared down at the tips of her shoes. "They're so... my shoes..."
While she was lost in her confusion, something whistled past her. A moment later, a figure appeared on the wall. The tall, thin teacher with a cigarette in his mouth stood there, holding Ryōto under his arm.
"And what are you doing here, decided to skip too?" he asked, elegantly jumping down to the ground.
Rin shook her head frantically, looking at Ryōto with concern. He had his eyes closed, pretending to be dead, and wasn't moving.
"Well then, Obito, let's go. The teacher needs to have a serious talk with you. With skills like these, skipping class... you've got another hundred years to grow before you can run from me."
Rin, fidgeting with her fingers, said quietly:
"Obito-kun, I need to talk to you later."
Hearing this, Ryōto opened his eyes and gave Rin a thumbs-up. "She's one of the guys! You have my respect, my friend!"
Seeing this, the teacher felt a pang of jealousy and, hoisting Ryōto up, walked away quickly. Rin was beaming with joy. "Ryōto gave me a thumbs-up! What could it mean?"