"Good morning, fellows. I'm Fukui Hitoshi," he said, flashing an awkward smile as he felt the pressure of stares on him. Despite that, not everyone seemed interested; many of those from ninja clans were barely looking at him. Though he tried to ignore it, he couldn't help but feel slightly irritated.
"The ego of these kids is unbelievable," he thought, stifling a sigh as he sought to route his presentation serenely.
"I really like quietness. I can't stand people who don't take things seriously...and, if I had to mention a dream, it would be to live a quiet life with a loving family."
With those words, he sat back down in his place. His teacher, Oda Takeo, gave him an encouraging smile, but the reaction from his classmates was almost nonexistent. Many remained indifferent, absorbed in their own thoughts. Of the forty students in the room, Hitoshi estimated that barely ten or fifteen had actually heard him.
Swallowing down his annoyance, he tried to keep his composure. "They're just kids," he reminded himself with some resignation. "I can't expect too much from them. They don't understand the importance of these moments yet."
Many names passed, and so time went by. The children of the clan and the civilians were very similar in a sense. Many aimed for great goals, such as being the strongest or becoming the fourth Hokage.
Very few had more earthly goals. Among them were some civilians who dreamed of saving up to open a store and, surprisingly, the Uchiha girl. She was finally able to confirm her identity: Uchiha Mikoto.
His eyes wandered a little to look at her. His voice was soft, even somewhat shy. He hadn't expected those characteristics in someone from the Uchiha. Perhaps it was stereotypical, but he couldn't shake those thoughts regarding the more emotional clan.
What struck him most was that Mikoto despised unnecessary violence, showing even in her childish face a noticeable distaste. She said she liked respect, and finally declared that her dream was for both her clan and her family to be in peace and tranquility. These were powerful words coming from a potential heir to the clan.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Hitoshi turned his gaze back to sensei and let everything run smoothly. When everyone had finished introducing themselves, the teacher took advantage of the last few minutes of class to foster a connection between them.
It was a hit and miss at the same time. The children got up from their seats and quickly grouped with those with whom they had the most affinity. And by affinity, Hitoshi noticed that it actually referred to social classes. Clan children and civilian children were gathered separately, showing a great separation.
Perhaps respect or fear was the cause of this division, but Hitoshi didn't care. He was calm because he noticed that no one approached him. "Apparently no one understands my dream yet," he thought, "That's normal. Many are young and don't value those little things."
He mentally smacked himself as he noticed that he sounded narcissistic, as if he had moral superiority. He sighed, put those thoughts down and decided to pull out his book. If no one interacted with him, he wasn't going to waste those important minutes.
He picked up from the page where he had left off and began to concentrate bit by bit, until something interrupted him.
"Have you seen the pretty girl from the Uchiha?"
A child's voice echoed near him. Although he did not want to be distracted, it was unavoidable to listen. As the others gathered with like-minded people, Hitoshi noticed that somehow Mikoto seemed to have done the same by isolating herself.
"I don't know. The moment the teacher gave this time off, it was like he disappeared from the classroom. It was weird. But well, what can we expect from those Uchiha psychopaths, did you know that once they...?"
Hitoshi looked up for a second to look around. Indeed, she was no longer in the classroom. Her seat, once occupied by his presence, was now occupied by a girl from the Inuzuka clan.
He turned his attention to the window. From there he could see the academy's training yard, surrounded by various trees and vegetation. With a steady gaze, he noticed something. If he hadn't practiced his vision for quite some time, he wouldn't have seen Mikoto resting on a tree branch. She was leaning against the trunk, partially hidden by the leaves. It was easy to lose sight of her if you didn't give her a second glance.
The girl seemed to be concentrating, writing in a diary. Her fine features and noble attitude made her stand out quite a bit. It was inevitable to think she was pretty.
Suddenly, Mikoto stopped writing and stood still for a few seconds. Then, she turned her face towards Hitoshi. He was surprised to notice that she had noticed that he was watching her. So as not to ruin the first interaction, he raised a hand in a slight salute before returning to his reading.
Mikoto looked at him for a few more seconds before disappearing from the site. Hitoshi didn't make another effort to find her. "If she doesn't want to be with us, I'm not going to stop her," he thought, and returned to his reading. He raised an eyebrow as he analyzed a passage in the book.
"I disagree a little bit here. I remember that the best way to care for a knocked-out person is different. Convince me, book, and I can combine it with my knowledge..."
Lost in their reading, the free time passed quickly. The children were silenced with a short wake-up call from the teacher. Hitoshi put away his book and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Mikoto had returned to her place. Curiously, no one seemed surprised to see her again, which seemed strange to him, but of little consequence.
"Students, you are free. You may go home with your parents. Remember that tomorrow the regular classes begin and we will start with the history of our village," the teacher said enthusiastically as he dismissed them. "Take care and we will see you tomorrow."
With that, Hitoshi gathered his things and started to leave. As he walked through the halls of the academy, he received the occasional accidental shove.
"Kids sometimes have too much energy. Just let them," he thought, paying no mind to it.
When he reached the exit, he was a bit taken aback. "Don't these adults have any responsibilities?"
Seeing the crowd of parents waiting for their children perplexed him. He had not expected to find so many responsible parents picking up their children from the academy.
Shaking off the surprise, he slipped into the crowd. He could hear parents congratulating and showering their children with love. He sighed and made it out without much trouble.
"Back to the grind," he muttered, clutching his backpack tightly and adopting a determined look. "No one will protect me. I'll just have to be stronger to live in peace."
With that thought, he moved through the village.
In the distance, a teenage girl noticed a boy walking alone with a backpack. She raised an eyebrow and pulled her brother to ask him.
"Hey, Nawaki, is that kid in your class?"
The brown boy frowned and replied in annoyance, "Don't treat me like that in public, sister, that my classmates might make fun of me later."
The teenager ignored him and continued to insist.
"Yeah, yeah, he goes in my class, but who cares? I think he said something like he wanted to live in peace or something."
With that, Nawaki escaped his sister's grip and ran for home.
For her part, the sister looked at the boy for a few seconds without showing any interest and then continued walking after Nawaki. She knew that her parents had prepared a surprise for her brother, and she had to make time.
Once at her training site, the teenager sat down and leaned her back against a tree. Taking her lunch out of her backpack, she began to eat quietly.
"From now on, I'm not going to stop," he thought, as he enjoyed his meal, preparing himself for what was to come.
After resting for a few minutes to prevent his stomach from hurting later, he started at a slow jog, gradually increasing his speed until he ended up running through the forest. Over the years living in Konoha, Hitoshi had discovered this small place and had made it his second home. He knew every corner and every branch of the trees that inhabited it.
Taking a leap, he landed on a branch and began to move from one branch to another. Varying movements and trajectories, she tried to make her body more agile and flexible. Although she was aware that she did not possess the natural flexibility that some women demonstrated in physical activities, she did not mind striving to improve. Beads of sweat decorated her face, and her body reflected the accumulated fatigue.
After nearly two hours of training focused on speed and flexibility, he finally fell to the ground to recover. His chest rose and fell as he took deep breaths, but a small smile crept across his exhausted face.
After a few minutes of rest, he got up from the ground and went to his backpack. He took out his kunais guard and secured it around his leg. Like the day before, he started with throwing practice.
He knew deep down that this skill was not particularly useful. Perhaps, even in actual combat, he wouldn't have much opportunity to employ it. But still, he thought, "If a single throw can take out a minor target and make combat easier, then it's worth it."
What Hitoshi did not know was that dark eyes were watching him intently from a distance.
"Slight traps along the way and even decoys... All to protect your training place from prying eyes. You're interesting, Fukui-san," muttered a female voice.
He showed no expression on his face, but his black eyes, deep as onyx, shone with a curiosity that could surprise anyone.
With a wicked little grin, he stretched out a ninja wire he had found on the spot. This activated one of the boy's traps, allowing him to closely observe his reaction.
Hitoshi turned quickly when he noticed that someone had activated the traps he had set up. These traps did not have the strength to stop an intruder, but they were functional enough to alert him to someone's presence. He knew he didn't have the strength or talent to confront a potential intruder, but he did have the skills to hide the evidence of his training.
Without wasting time, he gathered everything that belonged to him and fled the place. Meanwhile, the girl watched him from the shadows and let out a small laugh at seeing him in such a hurry.
"How worried you are..." he muttered as he disappeared into the branches, his gaze still fixed on the spot Hitoshi had just left.