The moment he entered the classroom, Ryōto immediately collapsed onto his desk. For appearance's sake, he laid out his textbooks and pencil case, intending to sleep until the end of classes. Fortunately, he hadn't yet forgotten which classroom was his.
Soon, a girl sat down next to him. He knew her. Although they hadn't seen each other, he remembered her scent. Quite sharp, and she didn't bother with small talk. It seemed she wasn't the superficial type.
A moment later, another girl sat down beside him. To be honest, sniffing a girl's scent was impolite, but this scent…
Ryōto lifted his head, his gaze meeting a pair of crimson eyes. There were no loud cries of "Ah, it's you!" They silently averted their gazes. Ryōto lay his head back on the desk, while Mai silently took out a textbook and began to calmly flip through it.
Listening to the rustle of the pages, Ryōto thought that next time he could bring a novel with him. For example, Make-Out Paradise. It seemed that series should have been released by now.
As he was pondering, a sound came from in front of him. His pencil case had fallen to the floor. The girl sitting next to him had pushed it off. She was looking for trouble. Ryōto lifted his head and looked at Mai.
Mai was calmly flipping through her book, feigning ignorance.
How childish.
Ignoring the pencil case, Ryōto lay back down on the desk. Mai didn't like that. She glanced sideways at Ryōto, wondering what other small thing she could sweep off his desk. But there was nothing else. Ryōto's desk was cleaner than her own face. After a moment's thought, Mai raised her hand and held it over the back of Ryōto's head, poised for action like a little cat.
All the students in the class stared at her. Noticing their gazes, Mai looked at everyone innocently and slowly raised her hand.
You watch, and I'll strike. What's the problem?
The kitten, Musashi, perched on Mai's head, watched her hand intently and synchronously raised his paw, also ready to attack.
"Kurenai!" Nohara Rin, dropping her backpack, grabbed Kurenai's arm and whispered with a hint of worry, "Save Ryōto-kun, he's being bullied!"
"Well..." Before Kurenai could voice her opinion, someone else couldn't take it anymore.
Miyoko, sitting next to Mai, grabbed her by the wrist and, staring her down, demanded, "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Stay out of it," Mai turned her head and, looking into Miyoko's serious eyes, replied, "This is between him and me. It has nothing to do with you."
"You're bothering me!" Miyoko exclaimed. "You're so annoying! This is a school! If you want to fight, go to an alley after class and settle it there!"
Ryōto, still lying down, scooted closer to the wall to avoid being spattered with blood during the girls' fight.
"Let go!" Mai snapped coldly.
The gaze from those crimson eyes was slightly intimidating, but Miyoko was not one to be easily frightened.
"You let go! Don't you dare bully others!"
"You think I'm bullying him?!" Pure bewilderment was written in Mai's eyes.
"Aren't you?!" Miyoko retorted. "You started it!"
"Why you...! Then I'll deal with you first!" Mai immediately forgot about Ryōto and focused on the opponent before her.
"Ooooh!!!" the boys roared.
It was the first time they had ever seen two girls fight!
Mai thrust out her other hand, but Miyoko intercepted it with lightning speed. Pressing their hands against each other, they slowly stood up, not yielding an inch, their teeth gritted. Ryōto, still lying on his desk, moved even farther away.
Kurenai grew worried and, grabbing Rin's hand, said, "Rin! Let's go help Miyoko!!!"
In response, Nohara Rin held Kurenai back. They had gotten to know each other over the few days spent in the hospital. Miyoko hadn't shown them much friendliness; she was still angry. Besides, Miyoko was very proud. If they helped her, she would only get angrier.
"Kurenai, don't forget, they're both... sick..."
Hearing this, Kurenai stamped her foot but didn't dare to approach. If she accidentally pushed them, she would have to beg Miyoko not to die all over again.
The girls remained locked in place, pouring all their strength into the struggle, but neither could overpower the other.
"Damn you!!!" Straining her arms, Mai looked at Miyoko and hissed through gritted teeth, "You're already losing steam!" and began to slowly gain the upper hand.
"What nonsense! I'm going to be the first female Hokage in history!" Drawing strength from somewhere, Miyoko shouted and began to push Mai back.
And so they continued their tug-of-war.
"Go! Go! Go!" The boys, having jumped to their feet, pounded on their desks and cheered them on.
"Miyoko! Don't lose to her!" The girls took their side and watched her with hopeful eyes.
Some of the boys wanted to cheer for Mai, as she was pretty, but they were afraid of being misunderstood.
Accustomed to being on her own, Mai didn't notice the atmosphere of isolation hanging in the air. In her eyes, there was only Miyoko.
"Give up!!! You're already out of breath!!!"
"You're the one who's out of breath!!! Your legs are shaking!!!"
They shouted, they fumed, their hearts pounded wildly, and tears welled in their eyes, but neither would let go. Only when the bell for class rang and the students settled into their seats did they remain, still locked in their struggle.
Sato Takeru entered the classroom, slapped a register on the desk, and, raising an eyebrow, asked, "And what sort of composition are you two creating here?"
Both remained silent.
"Quite persistent. You must have been standing like this for a while," Takeru said. "Alright, alright, let each other go. Class has begun."
Hearing this, they glanced at each other and simultaneously released their grips. Sinking into their seats, they panted heavily, slumped over their desks, their bodies trembling slightly. They were both utterly exhausted.
Takeru's gaze swept across the classroom and settled on Ryōto, who was sitting in the corner by the window.
"Oh, if it isn't Ryōto-kun. A rare guest, long time no see," Takeru said. "Or have we never met at all?"
The tattletale teacher.
Ryōto curled his lip and, remaining slumped over, did not deign to answer him.
"Stand up!" Takeru barked, slamming his hand on the desk.
What are you yelling for?
Ryōto stood up.
"From this day forward, I'll be watching you constantly! Don't even think about slipping away under my nose!"
So, we're raising the stakes. Well, we'll see.
Ryōto shot Takeru a meaningful look, leaving it up to him to guess its meaning.
He's defying me!
Takeru's eyebrows shot up. He pointed a finger at Ryōto, then again, and again, but decided not to engage with him for now and said, "Sit down!"
Then he turned to Obito. "Not late today, very good. Keep it up; you need to be persistent, Obito-kun."
Obito beamed. The teacher praised me!
"Class, I will be teaching all of your lessons today," Takeru announced slowly.
"The curriculum is very demanding, and we don't have much time left. Those of you who are falling behind, don't worry. I, your teacher, won't just abandon you."
The tattletale teacher is holding something back.
Ryōto looked at Takeru. Could it be that the village had a new plan? A plan for the accelerated training of cannon fodder for the battlefield?
"Those who are falling behind will stay after school. I will help you catch up on theory."
Looking at these little ones, Takeru was filled with concern. One didn't have to worry about the children from clans. They attended the Academy mostly as a formality; they would be taught everything at home. But the children from ordinary families not only lacked access to resources for learning ninjutsu, but some couldn't even read.
"Today, for our first lesson, we will learn... to extract chakra."