Fallen Grace: A Naruto Fanfiction (Book 2, vol. 1)

Chapter 27: The Past Watches From Afar (4)

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POV: Naruto

I walked into class, the gloomy clouds that surrounded the sun gleaming over us. Iruka smiled at me.

"Good to see that you're not trying to be late." I raised an eyebrow, looking at the clock. I saw that I was just barely on time.

I internally sighed at my sluggish walking.

"I apologize."

I was about to walk towards the seats, but soon found myself wondering where my seat was located. From the looks of it, there were 2 seats open.

"Where should I sit?" I asked Iruka. He looked at me for a moment, letting out an inquisitive look before giving me a concrete answer.

"Ah, I think the one over there should do well." He pointed towards the one seat that would only give me trouble over the course of my 9 years here.

I nodded, walking over to the seat that was going to lead me to my inevitable demise.

"Good morning Uchiha-san," I said to Satsuki as I sat right in between her and the sleeping Shikamaru that was in a morning daze.

"Good morning." Her tone was dull and void of any real affection. She felt no happiness - a sense of indifference - when interacting with me.

I wondered if I should feel hurt by such dullness. This Satsuki wasn't the same Satsuki I had known-- could she be considered as a fake?

No, that's not right and far too harsh. Even if these people were created by the unroyal power of godhood, it was not right to consider them not real humans.

Because they are more than just puppets of flesh.

They bore feelings, emotions, making them more of a reality than anything fictional. I looked to the side of me, looking at Shikamaru.

"Good morning, Nara-san."

"...Huh?" He spoke in a groggy tone as he looked up from his nap, his eyes shifting from its slits to a slight foggy look. With his pineapple-like hair, Shikamaru had a slight drool on the side of his mouth.

"Oh..." He said slowly. "It's you..." He finished tiredly. He yawned as he looked around.

"Is it time for us to leave?" I shook my head. "Oh... let me go back to sleep then." I nodded, amused. Shikamaru put his head down on his desk.

"Wow! Didn't think we'd sit so close together! I had expected you to be seated at some secluded area." Yu grinned as he sat right in front of me.

I sighed.

"Geez, Yu. Shut up." Kiba grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head in a grumpy manner. It seems he was trying to sleep as well.

"I was just tryna welcome our new student!" Yu stuck his tongue out. "Plus I want to be friends with him so he can carry me in written exams! Haven't you heard? He got near-perfect scores in the written portion of the entrance exam! Ain't that neat?"

Hey, I don't like being used like that.

"That's really cool," I looked to the side, seeing pink hair enter my vision. "not many people score high in the written exam."