Chapter 15: The First Day
"Hey Ren!" A familiar voice called out to him. It was Aoi Kaito, making his way through the other students, his glasses shining in the dim light. "I can't believe we ended up in the same class! Did you see that? I ranked third!"
"Congratulations," Ren replied with a small smile, remembering their meeting at the ramen stand. As then, Aoi carried a precarious stack of books in his arms.
"WATCH OUT FOR YOU!"
A sharp cry jolted both of them. A girl with long black hair was running straight toward them, chased by what looked like a small tornado of water.
"MAKE WAY!"
Ren moved nimbly, dragging Aoi with him. The girl - whom Ren recognized as Tsuki Jun'ko - darted past them, followed by a partially liquefied Hōzuki Hiroshi shouting something about "an insult to the honor of the clan."
"È... is it always like this?" asked Aoi, adjusting his glasses.
"STOP!" The sharp voice made everyone on the spot freeze. Fujimoto-sensei, a man in his 30s with a scar across his chin, watched the scene with hard eyes. "This is Kirigakure Academy, not a playground. Hōzuki, Tsuki, to class. Immediately."
The atmosphere cooled instantly. The students hurried toward the classroom in silence, feeling the weight of their sensei's gaze.
The classroom was a spacious room on the third floor, with large windows overlooking the academy courtyard. Ren sat in a center pew, neither too far forward nor too far back. Aoi, after a moment's hesitation, sat next to him.
"Before we begin," Fujimoto-sensei said, his voice firm and controlled, "I want to make one thing clear: I will not tolerate childish behavior. You are here to become Kirigakure ninjas, not to play games. Hōzuki, Tsuki, this is your first and last warning."
Jun'ko and Hiroshi nodded, every trace of playfulness gone from their faces.
The introductions proceeded in a tense atmosphere. Each student stood up, said his or her name, and quickly sat down again. When it was Ren's turn, he introduced himself briefly: "Mizutani Ren." He noticed the curious glances-he was the youngest in the class, and that attracted unwanted attention.
"The youngest," someone murmured.
"The son of the weapon store," added another.
Fujimoto-sensei proceeded to explain the first-year program: chakra theory, ninja history, basic taijutsu, elementary ninjutsu, and Kirigakure's distinctive techniques. His tone left no room for doubt about the seriousness of the training that awaited them.
During the lunch break, Ren found himself sitting with Aoi and, surprisingly, Jun'ko, who seemed to have lost some of his initial exuberance.
"So, Mizutani-kun," Jun'ko said in a low voice, "how does it feel to be the youngest?"
"How does it feel to provoke a Hōzuki on the first day?" replied Ren with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood.
Jun'ko smiled weakly. "Perhaps not my brightest moment."
"Technically," Aoi began, before being interrupted by both of them:
"Don't start with the hydrozoans!"
The rest of the day passed in an alternation of theoretical lectures and early practical exercises. On the way home, Ren reflected on the day. The group seemed interesting, although the academy's severity was evident. Jun'ko hid a sharp mind behind his seemingly carefree attitude, and Aoi ... well, his encyclopedic knowledge could come in handy.
'Maybe,' he thought as Kirigakure's mist thickened around him, 'I could make a bigger change than I expected.'