The introduction continues, until finally…
“Thank you, Shikamaru. Next, Nobu Takeshi.” Iruka said before he immediately locked on to me.
Does he remember me from entrance test? Hmm, that’s a good thing, right?
Anyway.
I stood up, did a sweeping gaze across the classroom before starting.
“Nice to meet you all. My name’s Nobu Takeshi. I like egg fried rice and dislike carrot. I like to train and my dream is … to be able fly.” And I end it with a bow. “Please take care of me.”
Some looked at me weirdly when I mentioned my “dream”. Well, yeah, it’s not really a well thought out answer to be honest. I could say something Will-of-Fire-ish there, but then I have to maintain that kind of façade for the next 6 years, which I very much doubt I will be able to pull.
I mean, I’m not lying, either. The story did shows jutsus and tools that allows one to fly or float, some which I aim to acquire.
Though for sure that’s not my main dream. That would be to live happy and healthy, a wish I carried from my previous life. I think that would be even weirder to say here, and will more likely to ring an alarm bell to some higher ups.
At least Shino’s intros gained worse reaction than mine. Iruka also doesn’t have anything to say about it. And so the class moved on.
When it was Sasuke’s turn, one can really feel how the class (mostly the girls) were paying proper attention to what he was saying. And after he finished, commotion erupt.
The girls were clamoring, kyaa-kyaa-ing and gossiping on how handsome and how cool Sasuke was. Meanwhile, some boys were clicking their tongue, though I reckon that was aimed toward the girls’ reaction, not Sasuke himself.
“Alright, quiet down, class!” Iruka said calmly. And the clamouring did lessen somewhat. Seeing that that’s the best he could get, Iruka continued. “Thank you, Sasuke. Next! … Uzumaki … Naruto.”
“Yoshha!” Shouted the whiskered blondie as he stood up instantly.
…
It’s like some sort of trigger, because the rest of clamoring died down instantly. Replacing it was whispers and some kind of tension in the class’s atmosphere.
Shit, seriously? Naruto’s name was placed right after Sasuke?
“Okay.” He started, while adjusting his goggle slightly. “So, my name’s Uzumaki Naruto ttebayo. I like ramen and I hate vegetables. I like fishing and my dream… my dream is to be a Hokage! The best Hokage ever!”
A second of silence, and the whispers continue. But now it was seasoned heavily with snickers and snorts full of derisiveness. The contrast between the reaction to Naruto’s intro and Sasuke’s intro could not be more obvious. Something I clearly feel that Naruto noticed.
Shit. Calm down, me. The class was definitely being observed right now. Don’t lose cool. Stay down. Relax. Take a deep breath. Focus.
Okay, another personal reason to off Danzo, aside from the supposed Root agent that said things about my eyes. But for now, sorry Naruto, I got to prioritized my own well being.
…Please hang in there.
“That’s enough, everyone. Erm… thank you, Naruto. Next…”
He sure looks awkward with Naruto.
Seems like Iruka is not yet close with Naruto right now. Is this how it goes in the story? I mean, I know initially Iruka have conflicted feeling toward Naruto as his parents died on Kurama’s rampage. But I don’t remember when exactly he get over it.
Worse still, I also don’t remember what’s the trigger for Iruka to start genuinely caring for Naruto.
Urgh… I hope my presence does not screw up that event. I, no, the world, would be royally screwed if Naruto ends up going dark because he was too broken without anyone by his side in time.
Well, there’s father-daughter from Ichiraku, but if I remembered it correctly then Iruka was undeniably mattered much more for Naruto in the series. Sigh… You are reading on novelping(.)com, the official source.
“Alright, thank you Ino. Now that everyone knows each other’s names, let’s talk about some rules.”
After that, Iruka laid down some rules for his class. Basic stuff like be on time, do not disturb class, do your assigned tasks, and so on, and so forth.
Conveniently, one rule that I dreaded was thankfully not mentioned; seat rotation. That mean hopefully, I could keep my current seating position for the next 6 years. I guess I would need to be the first to arrive everyday as it would be first come – first served basis. Though that would definitely worth the effort.
After all, it is the perfect position if I want to do some training stealthily; no one behind me and to my left. The desk was also designed such that anything I did under it will be covered from the front.
The real variable was my deskmate, especially the one to my immediate right. Thankfully, right now that spot was occupied by Shino, which from the show should not be a busybody as far as I’m aware. Hopefully, he will sit there for some time.
“Now, we will be learning about …”
And so begin my second school life.
.
.
.
Boooriing…
Sigh… Why is it that I could binge read my parents’ books no problem yet classroom lesson felt so boring? Unfortunately, I do need to follow the lesson properly if I want to get a shot at being the top scorer for a chance to replace Sakura in Team 7.
Let see how long I could keep this up. Thankfully, this is the last school day of the week and next week the class would start it’s practical lesson, if the rumors are true. It then will be no longer fully theoretical from 8 to 4.
So for now, I gritted my teeth and kept listening while taking notes. Which is ironic because in my previous life, I was the one who frequently borrowing friend’s notes to copy.
Most of my own “note taking” was usually just taking photo of the board before the teacher erases it. Same thing with copying a friend’s note; I just snapped pictures of it instead of rewriting it down.
“Hey, Takeshi.”
“Hm? What is it, Sora?”
“Can I borrow your note again later?”
Yup, ironic indeed.
“Yeah, sure. Just like last time, make sure it’s not damaged.”
“Gotcha, thanks! Your notes are so easy to understand.”
“You’re welcome.” Well, most things are easier the second time around. I guess that apply to note-taking at school? Not to mention the curriculum for now are still very easy for me to follow.
Not long after, the bell rang and signifies the time for lunch break. Iruka close the lesson and immediately left the room to let us have our break.
I immediately put out my bento box and went to the door to leave the room followed by Shino, Kiba, Sora, Aki, and, surprisingly, Hinata, who also brought along their own bento box.
As I walked toward the door, I saw on my peripheral vision a swirly-cheeks chubby-boy and his pineapple head friend also heading toward the same direction. All 8 of us then grouped and went together to the rooftop to have lunch together, potluck style.
So, if you haven’t noticed, that was 5 out of 7 clan heads’ kids from the Rookie 9 in the group. What happen with staying low profile, then?
Well, you know thing doesn’t always go according to plan, right? Visit g.com for the full chapter.
It all started on the third day’s lunch break. Choji, who I realized has been observing my bento since the first day of class, finally can’t withheld his curiosity and asked if he can have a taste.
So I said yes, he tried it, he likes it, and asked for more bites while offering me to try his own bento. Which was a huge thing coming from an Akimichi (or just Choji?), if I remembered things from the show correctly.
I agreed again only after offering others in adjacent seats to also try my bento. They all happen to also liked it, and it evolved into potluck from there, which happened again the next day.
Seeing that the desk of me, Shino, and Hinata are too cramped, I suggest to have lunch together on the rooftop. They agree and Choji then brought Shikamaru along.
That brought us to the present, with all eight of us silently enjoying food under the warm spring sun.
The absence of conversation didn’t mean it was awkward, we were just too focused on savoring the taste and guarding against Choji from taking more food.
I rubbed my belly in satisfaction after I finished.
I said we were guarding against Choji, but Choji, or his parents, were thoughtful enough to pack much bigger bento box, so none of the other 7 in the group ended up eating less than what they brought.
That also include the still shy Hinata.
Speaking of which, in the show she had somehow an even bigger appetite than Choji, right? Does she already have her fill, I wonder? Or was that just fanon?
Meh, not my problem.
“So, is it true that next week we finally have outdoor class?” I started.
Shino nodded. “That’s what I’ve heard. Outdoor class for practical lesson should start on the second week.”
“Haah. What a drag.”
I retorted. “I’d say the indoor class are more of a drag. It was starting to get boring.”
Shikamaru glanced at me. “Not everyone listening and taking notes as serious as you do, you know?”
“Fair enough.”
“I hope we don’t have running practice too often. I’m not good at it.” Choji said dejectedly.
In contrast, Kiba punched his palm. “I hope we goes straight to combat practice. I can’t wait for that.”
I turned to Kiba. “I heard Inuzukas fight alongside their ninken, I do look forward to meet yours.”
That caught the attention of the two girls. Seems like they are also curious about the dog situation.
Kiba then slumped a bit. “But I haven’t been given my ninken yet.” Then immediately he perked back up. “No matter! For now my fist and kick will be enough!”
Figures. I thought it was weird that his dog was not with him at school when in the shows it was basically inseparable from him. Hmm.
… This is not an AU, right?
Note
Well, it’s a bit cliché I think. But here we are: the MC easily befriend half of Rookie 9. lol
Now, about the curriculum. I’m found it very daunting to write a detailed one, so I will just skip around and only mention something major: like when outdoor class would start, touch a bit about what will they do in those classes etc etc. In short, I think I will not go into detail about the lessons.
Last but not least about AU status. I will just declare it SLIGHT AU for now, just in case there’s some canon detail that I got wrong / very hard to incorporate with my current writing skill. But the MC will think that this is not AU.