The Academy classroom was already bustling when Naruto pushed the door open. He recognized a few faces from the registration area – the girl with the wide forehead Sakura, the chubby kid already munching on snacks Choji, the boy with pineapple-shaped hair slouched in his seat Shikamaru, and the blonde girl chattering nearby Ino.
The mont he stepped inside, the ambient hostility spiked. A familiar chill settled over the room as whispers erupted. Thankfully, not everyone radiated that coldness.
Ignoring the stares and murmurs, Naruto scanned the room, his gaze settling on a small figure hunched near the back, the owner of those clear, pale eyes he rembered, remarkably free of the malice that usually greeted him. He headed straight for the empty seat beside her.
The whispering intensified as he walked.
"Great, we're in the sa class as him."
"Why's that thing in our class? Talk about bad luck."
"Didn't Kitano almost get skinned alive last year? He's still not right in the head from it."
"Serves Kitano right for ssing with him. You know he's the one who threw my dad's valuable and costly pumpkins into the river, right?"
"That's nothing! He plowed up Old Man Kenji's entire back garden with his bare hands!"
"You think that's bad? He tore down the roof of our house during rainy season! We had to sleep in neighbours house for 2 weeks!?"
"Look, he's sitting next to the Hyuga girl."
"Think she's in danger?"
"Is he gonna... you know... eat her?"
"Why don't you go stop him then, tough guy?"
"...Not my problem."
Not everyone joined the chorus of negativity.
"Troubleso," the pineapple-haired boy muttered, frowning at the gossip but making no move to intervene. He shot Naruto a brief, indifferent glance before slumping onto his desk, seemingly asleep.
*Crunch, crunch...* Beside him, the chubby kid remained oblivious, utterly focused on his bag of chips.
"Sakura! Did you hear? Sasuke-kun is going to be in our class!"
"Really? Oh, that's amazing, Ino!"
The forehead girl and the blonde girl were lost in their own excited conversation, their attention fixed solely on the Uchiha boy Naruto had seen earlier. They giggled, oblivious to the tension surrounding Naruto. Naruto? Who's that? For them who could compare to Sasuke-kun?
---
"I-I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered as Naruto sat down beside her. She kept her head bowed low, unable to et his eyes, her pale lavender gaze hidden. A faint mist seed to gather there anyway. Her face flushed crimson, and she nervously twisted the hem of her simple tunic between her fingers.
Her heart pounded as she continued, "A-about what happened... that day... I wanted to find you, to apologize... but Yoichi-nii... he was punished by the clan elders too. And F-Father... he confined to the house. T-today is the first day they let out..."
Her voice trembled, thick with unshed tears. "I... I tried to sneak out... s-several tis... but they always caught ." She finally looked up, fresh tears spilling over and tracing paths down her cheeks. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." She choked back a sob, terrified he would bla her, hate her for abandoning him after he'd helped her. He must hate now, she thought miserably. He probably thinks I'm awful.
Just as despair threatened to overwhelm her, she felt a gentle weight settle on her head. A warm, small hand rested there, and a quiet voice reached her ear.
"It's okay, Hinata."
Naruto gently smoothed her dark hair, his touch surprisingly calming. He slid off his seat, kneeling beside her chair so he could see her face better. He carefully took one of her hands, gently prying her fingers loose from where they were strangling the fabric of her clothes. He looked directly into her tear-filled eyes, his own expression softer than she'd ever seen it. "I know," he said softly. "What happened that day wasn't your fault."
"I was never mad at you." He paused, a small, almost shy smile touching his lips. "I actually tried to find you too, but getting past the Hyuga compound gates isn't exactly easy." Especially, he added silently, when everyone inside has X-ray vision and has strict guard rotation after Kumo incident.
'You went through a lot, trying to sneak out from under the gaze of a bunch of Byakugan users.'
His simple words, his gentle touch, worked like magic. Hinata's frantic breathing slowed, the tears gradually subsiding.
"So," Naruto continued, still holding her gaze, "can we be friends?"
He waited. When she didn't answer imdiately, just stared at him with wide, wet eyes, he started to pull back slightly. "Or... maybe you don't want to..."
"I do!" Hinata blurted out, the words tumbling out before she could stop them. Her face instantly flushed an even deeper shade of red.
Naruto smiled, a real, genuine smile that reached his eyes, 'She's a nice kid.' He hadn't smiled like this in... well, ever in this life.
"Then it's settled," he said cheerfully, continuing with a bow,"Looking forward to getting to know you, Hinata-chan. Please take care of ."
'My first real friend in this world,' he thought, a warmth spreading through his own chest.
"N-Naruto-kun," Hinata stamred, still flustered but managing a watery smile back. "P-please... t-take care of too."
The mont wasn't quite as smooth as it seed.
Hinata's crying had, in fact, alerted the other students. Young and idealistic, plenty of them were eager to play the hero, punish Naruto, and "rescue" the damsel in distress. But before they could make a move, Naruto, sensing their intentions, scared them off with a single glare.
Even without the Nine-Tails, the pressure and intensity of his Ki he'd honed through training was more than these academy kids could handle.
Think of Master Roshi taking off his sunglasses. That intense look mixed in with Ki is completely different from his usual goofy persona.
Restraint and combat, two different sides of the sa coin. Complete control. That was the essence of the Turtle School.
A stark contrast to the Crane School, which reveled in displaying raw power.
"Tch. Troubleso," Shikamaru muttered again from his desk, cracking an eye open before seemingly going back to sleep, though his attention lingered briefly on the pair.
More students filed in: Sasuke Uchiha, radiating a cool boredom that already captivated half the girls, Kiba Inuzuka, swaggering slightly with Akamaru perched on his head, faint red fang markings on his cheeks, Shino Abura, hidden behind dark glasses and a high collar, his Ki signature still feeling oddly unstable to Naruto's senses.
Soon, Iruka entered, clapping his hands for attention. "Alright everyone, settle down! My na is Iruka Umino, and I'll be your horoom instructor this year." He smiled warmly, though Naruto still felt that faint undercurrent directed his way. "Let's start with so simple introductions. Tell us your na, sothing you like, and what your dream is for the future."
One by one, the students stood up.
"Kiba Inuzuka! I like dogs, obviously! And Akamaru! My dream is to be Hokage soday!"
"Shikamaru Nara. Likes... watching clouds, naps. Dream... marry a normal girl, have two kids, retire, and play shogi. Anything else is too troubleso."
"Sasuke Uchiha. I don't particularly like anything. My dream... is I will restore my clan's glory and... beco strong ninja." He added silently, 'Strong like Nii-san.'
"I'm Sakura Haruno. I like... My dream is to beco a great ninja like Tsunade-sama!"
"H-Hinata Hyuga. I like... pressed flowers. My dream... is to beco... strong... and kind."
Finally, it was Naruto's turn. He stood up, glancing briefly at Hinata before facing the class. "Naruto Uzumaki." He paused, thinking. "I like Ran... and people with kind eyes." Another pause. "My dream..." He looked towards the Hokage monunt visible through the window. "...is probably to beco a great person like the Fourth Hokage."
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