You're Such a Lovesick Fool, You Must Be Blind

Honestly, Naruto rarely paid any attention to Hinata.

For one thing, she was so shy she was practically invisible. For another, neither her looks nor her style stood out; she had a bit of a sweet, ditzy air about her.

But seeing how red Hinata's face was, as if it might start dripping blood, Naruto could tell this hadn't been easy for her. Naturally, he wasn't going to turn down her kind offer.

I'll eat it now and repay her later.

"Thanks, Hinata."

Naruto reached for the lunch box, but Hinata seemed to freeze. When his hand touched her cool fingers, she jolted as if startled, pulled her hand back, and let him take it.

Naruto set the lunch box on the table and scooted farther down the bench. "Have a seat."

Hinata stared at the bench for a long moment before slowly sitting down. She kept her distance and her head bowed, not daring to look at Naruto. "Thank you... for accepting my invitation, Naruto."

Naruto felt as if he were the one treating her to lunch. Considering how shy she was, he didn't bother with false modesty. He lifted the lid, ready to use it as a bowl.

Inside were all kinds of dishes—sushi, sea bream, sweet shrimp, glazed eel—neatly arranged in a colorful spread. At the bottom were rice, pickles, and fruits and vegetables.

There were serving chopsticks, personal chopsticks, and a spoon.

Naruto was wondering how they should divide up the rice.

Hinata pushed the rice container straight toward him. "You eat it. I don't like rice."

Naruto gave a hearty laugh, picked up the serving chopsticks, and dug in.

He, Uzumaki Naruto, would remember this friendship.

Hinata began eating in small bites too, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

While things were going smoothly here, Haruno Sakura's efforts were getting nowhere. No matter how much she tried to persuade Sasuke, he ignored her and quietly ate his rice ball.

After giving up in disappointment, she saw Naruto chatting and laughing with Hinata, eating even better than she was. The sight left a worse and worse taste in her mouth.

Naruto's so uncouth, he'll eat anything anyone gives him! Sasuke's so much better—he keeps himself pure. He's just too hard to win over.

When lunchtime ended, the graduates returned to their classrooms in groups of three. Naruto had cleaned his plate and thanked Hinata again.

Hinata always seemed to move at an unhurried pace, and even her smile was restrained. She picked up the heavy lunch box and left, her steps almost as if she were floating above the ground.

Before long, the jōnin instructors assigned to each class arrived one after another. After Iruka introduced them, they led their students away.

Only Class Seven, Naruto's class, was still waiting for its teacher.

The classroom grew empty and quiet.

The three classmates said nothing. Since their names had been called, they hadn't even greeted one another once.

Iruka couldn't help wondering if there'd been a mistake assigning them to the same class. After all, classmates would become one another's closest comrades.

Time passed. The shadows cast by the windows slowly shifted from inside the classroom to outside, stretching into long shadows from the school building.

Iruka received his work assignments. After sternly warning Naruto and Sasuke not to fight, he left to attend to his duties as well.

The three of them remained silent.

Sakura sat right behind Naruto, while Sasuke was to her left. Though she tried to maintain a ladylike appearance, inside she was so furious she wanted to hit someone.

Why hasn't Naruto said anything to me yet? Does he expect me to go talk to him first? No way!

And Sasuke's ignoring me too! Waaah!

Naruto sat unmoving. As a man with dignity, why should he be nice to those two when neither of them had been nice to him?

Still, in his magnanimity as the stronger person, he decided to break the stalemate. He turned and looked Sakura straight in the eye.

"I don't get it. In terms of looks, strength, or character, how am I not better than this pretty-boy? You're such a lovesick fool, you must be blind. I chased after you, and you're chasing after him?"

Naruto faced the fact that he'd once pursued Sakura without flinching.

Sakura was stunned. She was so caught off guard that she didn't even get angry right away. "Naruto, what are you talking about?"

Now that he'd exposed her for fawning over Sasuke, she panicked. She didn't even dare turn her head to the left, afraid she'd see that cold, indifferent gaze.

Looking into Naruto's steady, sky-blue eyes, she felt at a loss for the first time.

"I was perfectly clear. I meant exactly what I said. If you didn't understand, I can repeat and explain it again."

"No! Stop talking!" Sakura shouted, clenching her fists.

Thud!

Sasuke sprang up and landed on the desk in a single bound, placing himself between Naruto and Sakura. He was like a cool beam of moonlight shining into Sakura's messy heart.

She was so moved she nearly burst into tears. Was Sasuke playing the hero and rescuing her? He really did care...

"You're stronger than me?" Sasuke's icy voice rang out. The look he gave Naruto held nothing but a pure desire to win.

Crack!

Sakura's heart shattered. She could almost hear it breaking.

Tears plopped down, then fell faster and faster, streaming in two trails as she ran out of the classroom.

But someone caught her by the wrist. It was Naruto. "Wait for the teacher. Where are you going?"

When Naruto didn't answer him and instead paid attention to that ridiculous big-forehead girl, Sasuke's expression darkened further.

Sakura felt a little comforted, but her temper got the better of her and she jerked her arm hard. "Let go of me!"

Naruto released her. He never forced women. His white-haired sworn brother had taught him that lesson the hard way.

Sakura's face crumpled completely. No one stopped her, so she ran for the classroom door.

Just then, the door opened.

Kakashi, white-haired and dead-eyed, walked into the classroom, scratching the back of his head. "I haven't been to school in so long, I actually got lost... Huh? What are you doing?"

When Sakura saw the teacher, her good-student instincts made her stop, though she was still crying.

Kakashi carefully surveyed the situation. Drawing on his extensive experience reading Icha Icha Paradise, he accurately figured out what had happened.

Two boys were fighting over love, the girl couldn't stop them and didn't know which to choose, so she was running away in tears.

"Youth really is beautiful..." Kakashi said, gently resting a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"You're the only ones left, right? Then I definitely haven't got the class wrong. Come outside with me. I'm your... instructor."

Naruto stepped into the hallway, but Sasuke leaped quickly across the desks and glanced at him, as if to show off his skills.

Naruto thought it was childish to compete over something so trivial.

But how could he turn down a challenge? If Sasuke wanted to compete, then they'd compete!

He jumped onto the desks without hesitation, racing from the second-to-last row toward the door.

Sasuke had set off first, so he slowed down and waited until Naruto was level with him before speeding up.

They obeyed Iruka's warning and didn't get physical. They were purely racing.

Up, down, up and down.

Even Kakashi's listless single eye perked up with interest.

But after another glance, he lowered his head again. The outcome was already clear: Naruto's strides were fast and powerful, and he leaped farther.

In a matter of seconds, he'd pulled two whole paces ahead of Sasuke and landed in front of Kakashi first.

When Sasuke landed, the look he gave Naruto grew truly grave, and he clenched both hands into fists.

But Naruto didn't look at him. He simply kept walking.

The four of them left the classroom and went up to the rooftop.

A series of broad archways, each bearing the character for "heaven," stood in a row. Two lines of neatly trimmed trees grew beneath them, their branches and leaves just reaching through the gaps between the arches.

Kakashi leaned against the rooftop railing and had the three of them sit on the steps. "Let's start by introducing ourselves."

Naruto didn't hesitate. While the other two stayed quiet, he spoke up first. "My surname is Uzumaki, and my name is Naruto. I'll turn thirteen next month."

Kakashi blinked. "That's it? What else? Your interests, your dreams?"

Sakura gave him a resentful look. "His hobby is playing pranks! His dream is to keep shouting about how he's going to surpass all the previous Hokage, even though it's completely unrealistic!"

Naruto didn't argue. Instead, he felt a little nostalgic.

Behind his mask, Kakashi's lips curved into a smile. Just as he'd thought.

The girl knew Naruto very well. They must have grown up together. And if he wasn't mistaken, Sasuke was the unexpected, unattainable crush.

Which one would she choose?

Sakura shot him a sideways glance. "Teacher, you still haven't told us your name."