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At this stage, Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno were still the quintessential inseparable pair. The bitter rift over their mutual infatuation with Sasuke Uchiha had not yet formed, leaving their friendship untainted. Arm in arm, the two girls navigated the rowdy morning energy of the classroom.
Upon entering, Ino's gaze drifted—almost by gravitational pull—toward the back row's window seat. Ever since that brief, startling encounter at the flower shop on New Year's Eve, she had found herself keeping a covert eye on the blond boy. His morning training runs through the village with Guy-sensei had become a fixture in her daily observations.
She noted that Naruto's hair had grown slightly longer, though the whisker marks were back in full view. A tiny pang of disappointment pricked at her; she had to admit, without those marks, Naruto was undeniably handsome.
But something else was different today. Instead of his usual routine of napping in isolation or staring blankly out the window, Naruto was engaged in a lively, genuine conversation with Kiba Inuzuka and a third boy whose high collar and dark sunglasses made him look like a shadow given form.
The atmosphere was surprisingly relaxed—even cheerful. Ino tilted her head, squinting to identify the low-profile boy. That kid from the Aburame clan... Shino, right? It took her a moment to recall his name; he was so quiet he usually dissolved into the background. She hadn't expected the "Demon Fox" to find common ground with the "Bug Boy."
"Yo, Naruto! Kiba! Shino!"
A sluggish, familiar voice cut through the noise as Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara strolled through the rear door. They moved with the easy confidence of a group that belonged together.
Naruto beamed at them, looking entirely unsurprised by their arrival. He reached into his desk drawer and produced a bag of barbecue-flavored chips, tossing them to Choji with the precision of a seasoned quartermaster.
"Whoa! Thanks, Naruto!" Choji's eyes widened with pure delight. Barbecue was his favorite. He tore the bag open immediately, the crinkle of foil punctuating the morning chatter.
"Hey, what about me? Where are my snacks, Naruto!" Kiba bounded over, slinging an arm around Naruto's shoulders with his usual wild energy.
Naruto dodged the contact with a laugh, pulling out a bag of plain chips. "Here, but it's original flavor. Take it or leave it."
"Heh, good enough. Ramen's on me later!" Kiba ripped into the bag and, in a rare show of inclusion, offered some to Shino. The Aburame boy didn't speak, but a pale hand reached out from his sleeve to silently accept a few chips.
Shikamaru let out a massive, bone-deep yawn. "Troublesome as always, Naruto," he muttered, though a faint, rare warmth flickered in his eyes. He dragged Choji into the seats directly in front of Naruto's desk.
Leaning back lazily, Shikamaru caught sight of Ino and Sakura still hovering near the entrance. He lifted a limp hand in a half-hearted wave. "Oi, Ino. Quit loitering and get over here. Class is starting."
The seating arrangement in the Academy was modular: rows of two desks seating four students each. With Shikamaru and Choji claiming the second-to-last row, they were positioned directly in front of Naruto, Kiba, and Shino. Following Shikamaru's lead, Ino tugged Sakura over and slid into the empty seats beside the two boys.
Ino sat directly in front of Naruto, turning her head to address Shikamaru. "Long time no see, Shikamaru."
"Wasn't that long," Shikamaru replied, too exhausted by the prospect of small talk. "We saw each other at Uncle Inoichi's birthday two days ago."
As members of the legendary Ino–Shika–Chō trio, their families were functionally one unit. A Yamanaka birthday was a mandatory event for the Nara and Akimichi elders.
"Oh? Uncle Inoichi had a birthday?" Naruto's ears perked up instantly.
When the conversation dipped into a lull, Naruto reached into his pocket and produced a small paper packet. It contained a collection of rare, carefully preserved flower seeds.
"I bought these from a traveling merchant passing through the gates," Naruto explained, his tone casual but sincere. "I wanted to give them to Uncle Inoichi as a thank-you for the New Year's gift, but he hasn't been at the shop the last few times I stopped by."
He handed the packet to Ino with a friendly, sun-like smile. "Could you pass these to your dad for me, Ino? Just a small token of my appreciation."
"It's really not—" Ino started to decline, her mind flashing back to her father's frantic "escorting" of Naruto out of the shop. But then she looked at the seeds, and then at Naruto's clear blue eyes. She took them. "Since it's from you, I'll make sure he gets them. Thanks, Naruto."
She turned back to face the blackboard, trying to steady a heart that had suddenly decided to race. No way! she scolded herself. I have to find a way to trick him into using that concealer again! Her inner "face-judger" was currently winning a landslide victory over her common sense. Letting those whisker lines rob the world of such a handsome face felt like a crime against aesthetics.
Beside her, Shikamaru and Sakura exchanged a look of profound confusion. The same question hung in the air:
Naruto knows the Head of the Yamanaka Clan? And they're on "gift-giving" terms?
It didn't fit the narrative. To them, Naruto was the isolated pariah of the village. Finding out he was friendly with one of the most powerful clan leaders in Konoha was like finding a secret chapter in a book they thought they'd already finished.
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