4: First Meeting

“Quiet!”

Iruka’s voice cut across the room. The classroom settled — slowly at first, then all at once — as every kid straightened up and turned to face the front. First day. Nobody wanted to start on the wrong foot.

Nobody except one.

“Hahaha—”

The laughter kept going.

Iruka’s eye twitched. A blond kid in the second row hadn’t even registered that the room had gone silent. He was grinning at nothing in particular, completely oblivious, like the concept of embarrassment had simply never occurred to him.

This one’s going to be a problem.

“Hey.” Iruka nodded toward him. “You.”

“Ha — what, you guys actually got scared by that?” The kid pointed at Iruka and laughed harder. “By him?“

A dull ache bloomed behind Iruka’s sternum. First day. Five minutes in.

“Hey. Kid. Find a seat.”

“Kid?” The boy finally glanced up, still grinning, zero remorse in his eyes.

“This whole Academy thing isn’t even that impressive, you know.”

Iruka felt a vein pulse in his temple.

“I’m just saying, you guys are all being way too—”

“Get out.“

The words came out louder than intended. Iruka pointed at the door, his composure fraying at the edges. “Out. Now. Go stand in the hall.”

The classroom went dead silent.

The blond kid blinked. Then he shrugged — actually shrugged — and sauntered out the door, hands in his pockets, affecting the most unconvincing look of indifference Iruka had ever seen on a child.

The door slid shut.

Iruka turned back to face thirty pairs of very wide eyes. Some of them looked scared. A few were trying not to laugh. Most were just watching him.

Great start, Iruka.

He exhaled slowly. Rearranged his face into something warmer.

“My name is Iruka Umino.” He smiled, and this time he meant it — mostly. “I’ll be your teacher from here on out. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you.”

The tension in the room softened.

“First things first — let’s learn each other’s names.” He let his gaze move across the room. “Who wants to come up and introduce themselves? Name, interests, whatever you want to share. Any volunteers?”

The class exchanged glances. Whispers. Nobody moved.

“Even just your name is fine,” Iruka added. “And maybe something you like. Or a goal.”

Silence.

“Nobody?”

“I’ll do it!”

The hand shot up before he’d even finished the sentence.

Iruka turned. A brown-haired boy with red fang markings on his cheeks was already on his feet, waving his arm, a small white dog tucked under his other arm like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Shin, sitting nearby, watched him with a quiet smile. He knew Kiba too well to be surprised.

“Brave,” Iruka said, and meant it. “Go ahead.”

Kiba bounded up to the front, Akamaru shifting in his grip. He planted his feet on the platform and looked out at the class.

And froze.

Every face in the room was looking at him.

Oh.

“I — my name is, uh—” He cleared his throat. “Kiba Inuzuka. And this is Akamaru.”

“Woof!”

Kiba’s voice had come out smaller than he intended. He could feel the heat creeping up the back of his neck. He glanced around the room, looking for something to anchor to — and found Shin’s eyes.

Shin wasn’t laughing. He was just watching, that faint smile still on his face.

Is he laughing at me?

Something snapped into place.

Kiba squared his shoulders. He didn’t know where the words came from. He didn’t stop to think.

“I don’t care about all that stuff,” he announced, loud enough now that nobody could miss it. “I’m here to learn to be a shinobi. And I am going to be one — a great one. That’s all you need to know.”

Iruka’s warm smile went rigid.

How many of them are like this?

Murmuring rippled through the class. Kiba strutted back to his seat and dropped into it, turning to Shin with a look of pure smugness.

Shin said nothing.

“…Right,” Iruka said. “Anyone else?”

With the ice broken, others trickled up one by one.

“I’m Naoki Irie…”

“Nozuru Aihara…”

“My name is Shino Aburame.” The boy who stepped up wore dark glasses and spoke without inflection, like he was reading off a report. “I enjoy spending time with friends. I dislike being alone. My hobby is raising insects.”

Insects.

The class stared.

Then, collectively, they shuddered.

“He’s from the Aburame clan…” someone whispered.

“That explains the bugs.”

Shin filed the information away without comment. Right. Bug users.

“I’m Shikamaru Nara.” The next kid looked like he’d rather be anywhere else. His hair was tied up in a loose topknot and his eyes had the half-lidded quality of someone fighting a nap. “I like sleeping. I dislike troublesome things. Hobbies… also sleeping.”

A beat.

“My name is Choji Akimichi.” This one was on the rounder side, and clearly aware of it. “I like eating. I dislike people calling me fat — I’m just built bigger than most people. And I like trying new food with friends.”

Someone in the back whispered “tubby.”

Choji’s expression flickered through three emotions in quick succession — annoyance, hurt, and then a kind of weary resignation. He walked back to his seat without another word.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The next boy up was dark-haired, pale, with a small clan crest stitched onto the back of his collar. The moment he reached the front of the room, half the class seemed to wake up. A ripple of excitement moved through the girls’ section.

“My name is Sasuke Uchiha,” he said. Clipped. Flat. Like he was stating facts for a report. “I like training. I dislike sweet things. My goal is to join the Military Police — and be useful to my father.”

He stepped down before anyone could respond.

Behind him, the girls dissolved into hushed chaos.

“He’s so cool—”

“We’re in the same class as Sasuke Uchiha, oh my—”

“Hmph.” Kiba crossed his arms. He had no patience for this. “Show-off.”

Uchiha, Shin thought, watching the boy return to his seat. One of Konoha’s great clans.

A flash of gold, and a blond girl was already on her way to the front, practically sprinting.

“My name is Ino Yamanaka!” She stood tall, like the stage belonged to her. “I’m good at flower arrangement — my family runs a flower shop. I dislike self-important people, and raw fish. And my goal is to become an amazing kunoichi.”

She scanned the room as she spoke. Her eyes landed on Sasuke.

He was staring out the window.

Her expression creased, just slightly.

The girl who followed her was the opposite in every way. Pink hair. Cheeks flushed crimson. She looked like she might dissolve into the floor.

“I — I’m Sakura Haruno.” Her voice barely made it past the first row. “I like… being with friends. With Ino and — and my friends. I don’t particularly dislike anything… except spicy food, maybe.”

She was back in her seat before Iruka could say a word.

“Sakura, you were so nervous,” Ino said. “Why?”

“S-sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize for that—”

“Sorry.”

“…”

One by one, the class trickled through their introductions. Shin watched them go.

When it was his turn, he stood, walked to the front, and looked out at the room.

“I’m Shin Takami,” he said. “I like days like this. Quiet ones. There’s nothing I particularly dislike, and nothing I want beyond more of the same.”

He walked back down.

In the third row, Ino watched him go. Her brow furrowed, and she looked faintly troubled — though she couldn’t have said why.

“He’s cute,” someone murmured near the back.

“Have we ever seen him around before?”

Shin didn’t spend much time with kids his age. Most of them had never crossed paths with him. That was how he preferred it.

“Stealing my spotlight again,” Kiba muttered under his breath, arms crossed.

Only one student remained. A girl who had sat perfectly still through the entire exercise, not once raising her hand.

“Ah — this young lady.” Iruka looked toward her gently. “It’s your turn.”

The girl stood. She had pale, almost colorless eyes, and short dark hair. She moved to the front with her head down, each step deliberate.

“I…” She stopped. “My name is…”

“What’s she saying?”

“Can’t hear her.”

“Her voice is so quiet.”

Her chin dropped lower.

“It’s all right,” Iruka said, keeping his voice easy. “Take your time. Just speak up a little.”

“I… my name is Hinata Hyuga…”