The next day, Yoru arrived at the Academy.
The moment he stepped into the classroom, he saw Naruto was already there.
After yesterday, Naruto had finally remembered him.
Unlike Shino, Yoru didn't wrap himself up or hide his appearance.
People had simply overlooked him because he never involved himself in anything and never played with the rest of the class.
The moment class ended, he always went straight home.
When Naruto saw him, he stood up and waved enthusiastically. "Yo, Yoru!"
Yoru was a little surprised, but he still smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.
He casually found a seat and sat down.
Naruto's behavior immediately drew the attention of many students.
Even though he was the dead last, he had always been good at attracting attention.
Quite a few people looked toward Yoru.
Several of the girls froze when they saw him.
They hadn't even realized there was such a good-looking boy in their class.
"He's not any worse-looking than Sasuke. I didn't even know he existed before."
"What are you talking about? Sasuke is the best. No one compares. But… he really is handsome."
The girls began debating who looked better—Yoru or Sasuke.
Most of them still leaned toward Sasuke, though not purely because of appearance. It was more about overall strength.
Some girls decided to make the first move and headed straight for Yoru.
Ino, for example.
She had always cared about looks. She liked Sasuke largely because he was handsome.
Now that she had discovered another boy whose appearance was in no way inferior to Sasuke's, she certainly wouldn't ignore him.
Ino leaned closer to Yoru, her cheeks flushed red. "H-Hi. I'm Yamanaka Ino. I… why don't I remember seeing you before?"
Yoru frowned slightly.
He couldn't help doubting himself. Was I really that invisible before?
It's one thing to keep a low profile—but to not even remember seeing me? That's ridiculous.
He felt rather speechless.
He just didn't want trouble, not that he was antisocial.
Yet somehow, after six full years in the same class, all he got was: Why don't I remember seeing you before?
Looking at the embarrassed Ino, Yoru could only smile. "I'm Yoru. Nice to meet you."
The slight teasing tone in his voice made Ino even more flustered.
"I'm sorry, Yoru."
He had only meant it lightly, of course. He had no intention of blaming her.
Besides, this was partly his own doing.
"It's fine. We can treat this as our first meeting."
Yoru smiled faintly.
Ino's heart began pounding wildly at the sight of that smile, and she nearly fainted on the spot.
Girls in this world were somewhat dramatic.
When their hearts raced, they could genuinely pass out from it.
Just then, Shikamaru walked over.
In his usual lazy tone, he said, "Your attention's always been on Sasuke. It's normal you didn't notice Yoru."
He sat down beside Yoru.
"Hey. I've seen you leave right after class before, but we never properly talked. I'm Shikamaru."
He extended his hand.
Yoru hadn't expected Shikamaru to have been paying attention to him.
"Yoru."
He shook Shikamaru's hand.
It wasn't surprising, though. With Shikamaru's brain, of course he would've noticed.
Even if only based on appearance, the only one in class who could compare was Sasuke.
They exchanged a few casual words before Sasuke entered the classroom.
The moment he stepped in, every girl's gaze locked onto him.
"Ah, Sasuke! He's so cool!"
A swarm of girls immediately rushed toward him.
Shikamaru slumped over his desk, looking exhausted. "Women are such a drag."
No sooner had he said that than Ino shot him a glare over Yoru's shoulder.
"Shikamaru, what did you say?"
Shikamaru turned his head, only to realize Ino hadn't followed the others to crowd around Sasuke.
"I—I wasn't talking about you."
Ino snorted. "Hmph."
Although she did glance at Sasuke a few times, her eyes lingered more often on Yoru.
Sasuke had always drawn her attention before, preventing her from noticing Yoru.
Now that she had noticed him, she realized something—
Yoru had no one around him.
And his looks were in no way inferior to Sasuke's.
She knew exactly how to choose.
Sasuke was great, but there were too many girls around him.
Not to mention Sakura competing with her.
In just a moment, Ino had already made her decision.
Over at the other side, Naruto watched as Sakura squeezed her way in front of Sasuke, wearing a lovestruck expression.
He gritted his teeth in anger.
"Damn it! Sakura only has eyes for Sasuke! Sasuke, you jerk—I won't hand Sakura over to you!"
With that, Naruto marched toward Sasuke's seat.
His actions drew everyone's attention.
Even Yoru looked over.
Naruto leapt onto the desk in front of Sasuke and crouched there, glaring down at him.
Sasuke didn't back down. He glared back just as fiercely.
The girls nearby were furious.
"Idiot Naruto! Stop staring at Sasuke like that!"
"Get down! How dare you glare at Sasuke like that!"
Yoru watched the scene unfold, feeling a strange sense of familiarity.
His memories were somewhat blurred.
But he had a feeling something shocking was about to happen.
Sure enough—
In the next instant, someone in front of Naruto accidentally bumped his backside with an elbow.
Naruto lost his balance and lunged forward—straight toward Sasuke.
And then it happened.
Yoru's eyes widened.
The girls beside them looked as if their hearts had shattered.
"Ahhh! Damn it, Naruto! What are you doing?! How dare you! Sasuke's first kiss—!"
"You idiot!"
Even Yoru was stunned.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "Th-Those two… seem pretty close."
Shikamaru muttered helplessly, "Naruto's such an idiot."
Ino wore the same expression as Yoru. "That was both their first kisses, right?"
In the past, Ino would have been furious.
But now… she didn't feel much of anything.
Unlike Sakura, who genuinely adored Sasuke, Ino's feelings were a mix of rivalry with Sakura and attraction to Sasuke's looks.
And just as quickly as she liked someone, she could shift her interest.
As for Yoru—
He felt like he would remember this scene for the rest of his life.
A dark thought surfaced in his mind.
The reason Naruto keeps chasing after Sasuke later on… could it be they actually share some special bond?
The thought made him shiver.
That's too ridiculous. Cut that thought off right now. The more you think about it, the scarier it gets.
Meanwhile, both Naruto and Sasuke were gagging in disgust.
Sasuke glared at Naruto with pure revulsion. "Naruto, you idiot. What the hell are you trying to do?"
Naruto shot back angrily, "I should be asking you that, you jerk!"
They immediately started arguing.
Sakura had no choice but to pull them apart.
To prevent another fight, she sat between them.
From that moment on, Sakura became the link that balanced the relationship between the two.