AFTER DARK | naruto

3 | a warm welcome to the academy

"It's... It's complicated!" He whined. "I'm just jealous of him, I don't know if I want to be him, or be friends with him!"

Yeah, he definitely sounded obsessed. "Well, you can sort that out by talking to him normally. Instead of picking a fight every time." You suggested.

He thought it over, eyes shut as he thought of it. But it wasn't long before he shook his head.

"Nah, no way! He might not know it, but we're rivals me and him! Believe it!" He declared before swinging his classroom door open - stepping inside.

"I'm back, Sensei!" He announced loudly, turning to you to wave goodbye with a smile before he closed the door. You stood there for a second, watching his behavior. Having no family really meant you could do anything, it gave you a few ideas, but just because you could, didn't mean you should. After all, you wanted the village to like you - not hate you.

You sighed, turning toward the exit only to stop. Somebody was just a little ways away, watching you from around the corner. But the moment you noticed them - they hid away with a squeak. You weren't sure if they actually believed that would hide them away - seeing as you had to walk that way to leave the building, but you weren't waiting. Instead, you walked over - whoever it was was silent, so silent you thought for a moment that they were a ghost.

But it definitely wasn't a ghost, seeing as they seemed more scared of you as you turned your head to look at them once you caught up.

"I-I'm sorry." They stuttered, blinking their plain eyes. For a second, you thought they were blind. "I swear I wasn't trying to be creepy. I was just getting back from the bathroom." She excused, watching you nervously as you shifted your foot - turning your body to look at her. Your expression almost reminded her of her cousins, she found herself scared all of a sudden.

"It's alright." You said suddenly, smiling. It made her loosen up her posture, a small smile coming over her own face.

"You're... You're not from this academy, are you?" She asked, curiosity evident by the way she tilted her head.

"No, I start a week from now." She suddenly found herself hoping you'd be in the same class as her, after all, if you were talking to her here, why wouldn't you talk to her in class? "I'm just a year above you." Her smile dropped as quickly as it came.

"Oh, really?" She stood straight from her hunching position, a hand on the wall. "Wh-which class are you in?" She asked.

You turned your head - looking down the hall. "Class three, the one all the way in the back."

She blinked sheepishly. "I see, you're in a class with my cousin."

You found yourself relieved for a second, but her worried expression suddenly had you nervous. "Are they... Nice?"

She was silent. Lowering her head. "Neji was very nice to me before." She sighed, "But.. He's suffered a lot." She looked back up at you. "I don't think I know him that well anymore." She said a whole lot, but not the answer you were looking for. He seemed like a complicated guy, but that was alright. You hoped.

"Well, thanks." You nodded, "You should get back to class. Maybe I'll see more of you around?" You suggested.

She stared at you - wide-eyed before smiling sheepishly. "Yes, I hope so." She nodded.

Four days before you started, you went out to an empty field with Kushina and Minato following behind. They had offered to teach you a few tricks - since both of them had been Shinobi at one point. They started with techniques they thought someone your age was capable of learning, which mostly had to do with Kunai - it was boring, but probably the first thing a Shinobi should learn. It was easy enough, seeing as that was the first thing your mother taught you as well.