New Habitat (2)

Nodding seriously, Mitai led the way, they passed through a corridor full of doors that alternated from left to right with some random plants or pictures to decorate their empty spaces.

— This is the first floor, where the first to third year dorms are — he heard Mitai say as he fumbled in his pockets, putting the card away.

Nodding, Michiaki cleared his throat.

— How many floors are there in the dormitory?

— There are three floors.

— Each with three classes?

Soon they reached the end of the corridor, in a large room. To their right was the entrance door to the dormitory with some mirrors positioned behind tables with shogi boards on them, on the opposite wall, to their left, there was a large painting on the wall, behind a dark wooden counter with the left side of the counter making way for a staircase that went up to the second floor. On the other side of the room, there was another long corridor with more doors.

— Yes — Mitai confirmed. — Look, that's the board with the rankings for each class, it's updated every semester — he said as he pointed to the board in the room.

Michiaki looked briefly at the board, not very interested. On it, there were twenty-six placings, with three selected in each of them, dividing the classes. Next to the names of those selected, there were letters such as (A), (B) and (C).

Apparently, each class was ranked individually and, even though he already had some idea of what the letters meant, he decided to clarify things with his senpai.

— Hey, Senpai — asked Michiaki. —, what are the letters next to each name?

— Huh? Those are the class divisions, from 1-A to 1-C, they are divisions made on the basis of a person's overall performance, from no strong foundation to model students. Overall, no one is really incompetent, they just haven't dealt with their weaknesses and haven't developed their strengths.

Michiaki, nodding, noticed that most of those ranked were from class (A), there were few cases of someone from class (B) being there, there wasn't even one from class (C), for that matter.

So there's a hierarchy... It should certainly serve as a nice incentive.

— There are very few from other classes in the ranking — he said as he shrugged.

Mitai snorted as he put his hands in his pockets.

— Normal, I guess — Mitai said. — It's so hard to get in, if your name comes up, you're directly promoted to class (A), without exams or anything.

Michiaki nodded.

Looking above the board, there was a clock marking 7:59 in the morning. Mitai followed Michiaki's gaze and nodded as she took her hands out of her pockets and grabbed him by the wrist of his right arm. 

— Come on, we haven't got all day! — he said.

Michiaki found himself being led to the right side of the counter, where he saw two doors with male and female symbols, obviously the restroom. Passing through the door, Michiaki saw urinals, toilets and even showers at the back. On a sudden impulse, he let go of Mitai, startling him, and handed him the clothes he was carrying before running to the nearest urinal.

A short while later, having finished relieving himself and washing his hands, he walked back to Mitai who was waiting for him with his clothes.

The morning pee, the tradition may be delayed, but never renounced!

— I'm sorry, Mitai, but I had to be quick!

Mitai just laughed as he returned the clothes.

— Nah, when the urge strikes, we go for it.

— It's true.

Calmly making his way to the shower, he hung up his clothes and turned to Mita. He stared at him while Mitai stared back. At first, Michiaki hadn't noticed the situation, but it was only after a few long seconds of silence that he realized the awkward atmosphere.

Two boys watching each other in silence in the bathroom facing the shower, how much more awkward and suggestive can you get than that, Michiaki thought as he scratched his head. In particular, the suggestive part of the atmosphere scared him the most.

He opened his mouth to speak, but apart from a strange noise, nothing came out. He watched intently as Mitai went from snorting to laughing uproariously.

— Haha, what the hell was that sound! — Mitai said as he leaned on another shower cubicle next door.

Blushing, Michiaki still decided to express himself.

— It's just that you kept staring at me and even followed me into the shower, I thought you wanted to get in there with me, or whatever! Who knows? 

— Get in with you? — he asked, his tone an octave higher before he started laughing even louder. 

Michiaki, embarrassed, decided there was no point in explaining himself any further and went into the toilet cubicle. Having taken off his pyjamas and carefully hung them up, he turned the shower tap and felt the warm water fall over him, drowning out Mitai's laughter that echoed throughout the thankfully empty bathroom.

Having just had some fun. Mitai pressed his back against the bathroom door and stretched.

— I'm not going in with you, but I can wait outside.

Michiaki froze for a moment.

— No, no! No need, you still have to stop by the library, don't you? - he said mechanically.

— Nah, it's not that urgent, I just don't want to fall behind Jin with that new book of his.

Hearing that, Michiaki became interested.

— The one about lightning control? — he asked.

Mitai raised an eyebrow.

— Yeah, you noticed?

— I'm just an observer — Michiaki lied as naturally as he breathed.

- Is that so, it turns out he's just started this affinity training and everything — said Mitai as he crossed his arms — It'll probably come to nothing, but I want to try it too.

Michiaki felt the water running over her little body as she washed and her stress as she paid attention to Mitai.

Training this, training that... these two are very responsible, he thought.

— Affinity, I've heard about it, how does it work? — he asked, trying to see how his knowledge applied to this world, he wasn't very confident by the way.

Mitai shrugged.

— Better start from the bottom, Kouhai," he said.

— I'm just curious — said Michiaki —, I had mine tested a few hours ago, after all.

— I know, but it's for your own good, stop thinking about advanced things and learn to crawl first! — said Mitai in a disciplining tone.

— But have the same age as me!

— That's true, but I already have some prior knowledge, and I just want to see how far I can go at the moment — said Mitai. — I'm not going to lie, it's something I shouldn't even be messing with, even the teachers have told Jin, but he doesn't listen, so I can only follow in his footsteps.

Are they rivals or something?

— I see, speaking of which, what class are you in? — Michiaki asked, changing the subject. — I forgot to ask.

— Class 1-A, the same for Jin!

Hearing this, from the shower, while soaping up, Michiaki could tell that Mitai was smiling right now, and naturally, with a lot of pride. But hearing that, a doubt sprang to his mind.

— What about me? Are we in the same class?

— Hah? Well, I don't know, you'll have to check with the sensei, only she can tell you.

Hearing this, he remained silent for a few seconds, looking for something to ask.

— What about the lessons in each class, are they different? — he asked, curious.

— Not much, we basically follow the same schedule, but in other classes everything is presented more slowly, using more time to focus on self-improvement — said Mitai before adding. — I think so.

— Are you not sure? 

— I haven't been there for a while — said Mitai without thinking too much.

Michiaki rubbed the shampoo into his hair, without much to add or anything to ask. It had been ages since he'd taken a bath in a shower and, even if it wasn't with hot water, as he wanted, the lukewarm bath still did the trick. More than enough, in fact. So he decided to enjoy it.

Having spent some time in silence, Mitai ran his hand through his shaggy purple hair as he thought deeply about something. He took a deep breath and settled into his seat, getting more comfortable with his back against it.

— Hey, Michiaki, you... what was your result in the entrance exam? — he asked, sounding nervous but curious.

Michiaki hesitated.

— Why do you want to know? — he asked slowly.

— Oh, it's just that it's very strange, you know — Mitai said. — You enter the academy at the end of the year and you still qualify to be in our dormitory? Not that we don't like you there and all, but you'd normally be in a room with other unclassifieds until after your supplementary classes.

I'd find it strange if I were him too, but it's only natural, isn't it? With my test performance, I'm class (A) anyway, I guess.

— With your white skin and striking features, I suspect you have some special lineage, forgive me if I'm wrong — he said, without beating around the bush.

Michiaki didn't know if his reasoning made sense, but he still agreed. Technically, he's right, descent from Hashirama and all the affinities of Naruto. Really, even more of a cheat than a ninja with lineage, he thought, for a moment feeling a little guilty.

After a few seconds of silence, Michiaki decided to speak.

— It's not that important or anything, look, it just so happens that I ate a lot of fruit, and they apparently measured my chakra, which turned out to be a lot. And that affinity test, or something like that, showed that I have a lot of affinities — he said.

It wasn't really a secret. The school knew, the Hokage probably already knew. Why hide something so trivial from your roommate?

— How many affinities do you remember? - he asked, more demanding.

Good question, I wonder too. Do I have Yin and Yang? Naruto had it in six-paths sage mode, but I don't know if he kept it after that, nor does it matter that he lost it, after all, the character I selected was transformed, so I should have it... I think?

— Around five, I think? — he said as he turned off the shower tap and noticed that his towel was missing.

— Hey, Mitai! — Michiaki called out to him. — I think we forgot our towel, can you get it for me, please? — he asked, feeling his cheeks flush with embarrassment.

— Oh, okay, it should be in the lockers in the changing room, I'll be right back! — Mitai spoke quickly, having woken up from his reverie.

Michiaki was about to call him, but realized he had already left, noticing the sound of a door opening on the other side of the bathroom, not the door they had entered through.

So there was a changing room in the bathroom, he thought, becoming increasingly impressed with the school's preparation. 

It wasn't long before Mitai returned with his towel and passed it over the box for him to dry himself. As he dried off and changed, Michiaki was surprised that Mitai hadn't said a word. He might not have known the boy in every sense of the word, but in the time they had been together, he had come to understand that Mitai wasn't the quietest of people.

And now, have I awakened some kind of inferiority complex in him? Or a blow to his pride?, thought Michiaki, not at all optimistic about the silence of his new "friend", he knew better about the nature of others, or at least he liked to think he did. 

Opening the door, he prepared himself for the look of displeasure or disdain he would find on Mitai's face, already putting on his mask of indifference. But on the other side of the door, all he found was a view of the other side of the bathroom, where the sinks to the left of the urinals were. 

His vision wandered around the room, looking for his roommate. He abandoned me here, that's pretty childish of him, Michiaki thought. 

— Hey, Michiaki... — the voice sounded soft.

Michiaki froze, feeling his heart almost stop and his soul almost faint. Michiaki prided himself on his sensitivity, which allowed him to be more observant based on people or the environment. And this trait was only amplified after incorporating the system. 

But even so, looking to his right, where Mitai was leaning on the toilet cubicle, avoiding his gaze and pouting. Michiaki found himself unable to sense even the slightest hint of her presence. Maybe I shouldn't let my guard down even with students, after all.

— I'd really like to apologize for being nosy, you know — he said, no longer avoiding eye contact. - It's just that I was very curious, the ninja academy is very strict about rules and everything, so... I don't know. I hope I didn't push it. We barely know each other after all. 

Michiaki, having heard her apology, wasn't sure what to say. Mitai's mature demeanor was different from the pettiness he had expected, he wondered if the children in Naruto's world were more mature than those in his past life, but he knew that wasn't the case, he had lived in this world for more than six years, after all. 

He couldn't say anything and saw Mitai's gaze drift to his brown hair. Michiaki didn't know what to say, so he closed the cabin door after grabbing his towel and pajamas. 

— You should talk to Sensei about a haircut, if you want to keep it, fine, but it's still too long for ninja academy standards! — he said as he crossed his arms over his chest. — You'll have to tie it up too, if that's the case.

Michiaki just looked at Mitai and wondered if this was his attempt to change the subject. It was nothing that offensive to ask, Mitai was just expressing his curiosity, a bit nosy of course, but he probably just wanted to get to know his roommate more. Just like any other child. 

— Hey, Mitai — said Michiaki, interrupting him. — I'm not mad about your questions or anything. I don't see a problem with you answering them, just respect my privacy when I don't want to talk about certain subjects, okay?

Mitai paused beside him before sighing.

— Of course! I was just curious! Now, did you hear about the haircut, like, do you like it like this or something? Oh, not that it's bad! — said Mitai, unable to stop her daydreaming as Michiaki tried to hold his attention and they returned to the bedroom. 

Is this your way of dealing with embarrassment?