The pit-pat sound of rain falling could be heard outside as the wind grew a little rougher. Though it was still early morning, the sky was already heavy with clouds, making it look closer to evening.
Naoka glanced at the windows and sighed softly before turning her eyes back to the classroom. The children were already seated neatly, eyes bright, waiting for her words. Seeing the little ones so eager to learn filled her heart with warmth, and she smiled gently.
"Today," she said, clapping her hands lightly, "we will be reading 'Gon, the Little Fox'."
The moment those words left her lips, the class stirred with excitement. A small girl raised her hand and chirped, "Sensei, I want to be Gon this time!"
Before Naoka could respond, a boy sprang up from his seat. "No! I'll be Gon this time!"
Soon enough, a chorus of voices joined in, each child insisting that they should play the role of Gon. Their little faces puffed with determination, filling the room with a lively buzz.
Naoka coughed once—soft, but firm enough—and the chatter fell away. She let her gaze sweep across the class before settling on a quiet figure.
"Okay," she said, her tone gentle yet decisive, "this time it will be Ryu's turn to become Gon."
The children groaned lightly in protest but quickly quieted again.
At the back, Ryu blinked, pulled from his thoughts. He had been staring out the rain-speckled window, his mind still circling the weight of yesterday's revelations—SEELE, their vast network, the surveillance that covered the world like an invisible net.
How was a boy like him supposed to fight something so immense? He needed resources, knowledge, a way to move unnoticed. The list of things to do stretched endlessly in his head, and for a moment, he had no idea where to begin.
But then, he reminded himself: 'Not knowing doesn't mean giving up.' He just had to take one step at a time. For now… he had to play the role the world expected of him. The role of a child.
Ryu pushed back his chair and stood. He opened his copy of the book with a small, practiced smile.
"Okay," he said evenly, "I'll be Gon."
Naoka's face brightened, and she nodded with satisfaction. She began assigning the other roles, the classroom slowly filling again with a cheerful energy. The morning lesson in Japanese Language class had begun.
***
Finally, the morning classes came to an end, and the bell for lunch rang out across the building. The children's chatter immediately filled the room as they reached into their backpacks, pulling out neatly wrapped lunch boxes their families had prepared.
Ryu opened his own and found it filled with fried rice, neatly arranged with a smiley face drawn in sauce across the top, and a few takoyaki placed at the side. He looked at the smiling rice for a moment, then quietly began eating, slipping one takoyaki into his mouth.
At the front of the classroom, his homeroom teacher, Naoka, also sat down with her lunch. In their school, teachers usually ate in their classrooms during the lunch period—not to hover, but to make sure the children didn't get too rowdy or end up fighting. They gave the students freedom to talk, laugh, or even play a little, as long as no one got hurt.
Ryu's eyes wandered toward Naoka. She was chatting softly with a couple of girls who had gathered at her desk to show her something, her smile calm and reassuring. For a brief moment, she looked less like a teacher and more like an older sister.
Ryu chewed thoughtfully and summoned the [Book of Everything]. It appeared silently before him, hovering over his desk, its cover faintly glowing. He swallowed, then thought clearly:
'Show me the capabilities of Ryu Izumi's homeroom teacher, Naoka Kobayashi.'
The text on the book's cover shimmered, shifting until it displayed a single name:
[Naoka Kobayashi]
The book opened, pages glowing with a steady blue-green hue as words began to form.
[Report: Naoka Kobayashi]
[Age: 23 years old.]
[Background: Naoka Kobayashi is the only child of her parents, who live in a small countryside village near Ōtaki Town, in Chiba Prefecture. The village name is Ichinomiya-mura, a quiet farming settlement surrounded by rice paddies and cedar groves.]
[Character: An honest woman with no criminal charges or suspicious affiliations. Naoka has a gentle nature, caring deeply for both her students and her parents. She returns to her family home often to help with chores and take care of her aging parents.]
[Aspirations: She has chosen teaching as her career out of genuine affection for guiding children. At present, she has no plans for marriage, preferring to dedicate several more years to her students before considering building her own family.]
[Skills: She is proficient in Japanese language, mathematics, and history. While her knowledge is above average, it is not at a genius level. She lacks specialized combat or political ties, her strengths lying in patience, communication, and diligence as an educator.]
[Risk Level: None.]
Ryu glanced at the text, then looked back at Naoka, who laughed softly as one of the girls tried to show off a doodle in her notebook.
He let out a small breath through his nose. 'So she's just… a teacher. A normal, kind woman taking care of her parents and guiding us brats. No hidden face, no hidden agenda.'
Ryu chewed slowly on his rice, his eyes flicking once more toward Naoka as she smiled at her students.
For a fleeting second, the thought crossed his mind—'Could I use her somehow?' A teacher was a stable presence, someone respected, someone who could help him reach into places he couldn't as a child.
But almost immediately, the idea collapsed in his head. He rested his chopsticks on the edge of his lunch box and exhaled through his nose.
'No… it won't work. What could I even tell her? That I'm secretly planning to fight a hidden organization that has their claws in every corner of the world? That I need money, tools, and connections to build weapons or machines that don't even exist yet?'
He shook his head faintly. Naoka Kobayashi was too normal, too honest, too good. If he revealed even a fraction of what he knew, she would probably panic. Worse, she might call his parents, thinking he was sick or delusional. That would only make things harder, put more eyes on him when he needed to stay invisible.
Ryu picked up another Takoyaki and chewed on it slowly, the taste hardly registering.
'No… I can't rely on mom and dad. I can't involve a teacher. And I can't reveal myself to any government or business.'
His brow furrowed as he glanced at the glowing [Book of Everything] hovering faintly in front of him.
'The book gives me knowledge. But knowledge alone doesn't create reality. I need tools. I need materials. I need connections. Without them, even if I design something incredible, it'll stay a dream locked in these pages.'
He sighed again, shoulders dropping slightly.
'So what then? If not family… if not teachers… maybe strangers. Someone already standing in the shadows. Someone who doesn't ask questions, only takes payment. But to reach them, I need money first. Without money, I can't move a single step forward.'
The sound of children laughing nearby pulled him back into the classroom atmosphere. He picked up his chopsticks again and forced himself to eat the rest of his lunch quietly.
'I'll find another way.'
***
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