Yuhi Kurenai hadn't finished speaking, but Yuki Yuichi and Kakashi Hatake both knew what she meant.
Yuki Yuichi waved it off. "It's fine."
"At worst, they'll just scold us again."
If they could learn something new, they wouldn't skip class.
Umino Ikkaku should have been prepared for this.
Thinking that, Yuki Yuichi looked toward the back row, where the children of ninja clans and other ninja had already arrived.
He refused to believe that the previous classes' second-generation ninja had never skipped class.
Training was grueling, but compared with having to sit here and listen to lessons about things he already knew, he would rather train.
At least then he could get stronger.
He had a system, but he wasn't foolish enough to just sit around waiting for its rewards.
While a hundred thoughts raced through his mind and Kakashi Hatake hesitated, Sarutobi Asuma came over and leaned in toward them. "Are you two skipping class again today?"
"Hm?" Yuki Yuichi started at the sound, then turned to look at the Hokage's son, who resembled a monkey.
When Sarutobi Asuma saw Yuki Yuichi looking at him, he didn't hesitate in the slightest.
"If you're skipping class, I'll join you."
"Class is so boring. We already know all this stuff." As he spoke, Sarutobi Asuma clenched his fists, his eyes blazing.
"Instead of wasting time here, I'd rather go train!"
"I'm going to get even stronger!"
Hearing that, Yuki Yuichi immediately agreed. "Great!"
"Let's go now!"
Sarutobi Asuma blinked at Yuki Yuichi's words, then pointed out the window. "Now?"
"Of course!"
"If the teacher shows up, we'll just waste more time."
As he spoke, Yuki Yuichi looked at Yuhi Kurenai and asked, "Kurenai, want to come too?"
"Huh?" Yuhi Kurenai pointed at herself, looking adorably confused. "Me?"
"Yeah." Yuki Yuichi nodded.
Yuhi Kurenai hesitated. "Isn't that a bad idea?"
"Dad told me not to get into trouble at school."
"Uncle Shinku won't mind," Yuki Yuichi said confidently.
Seeing his certainty, Yuhi Kurenai thought it over, then nodded with a bright smile.
"All right."
When Yuhi Kurenai agreed, Yuki Yuichi took her little hand, opened the window, and the two of them jumped down together.
Sarutobi Asuma saw them and hurried after them.
Kakashi Hatake, who had still been hesitating, watched the three of them leave, gritted his teeth, and followed.
If he got scolded, so be it.
Like Yuki Yuichi, he would rather get scolded than sit through another boring lesson.
Not long after they left, Umino Ikkaku walked out of the office with a stack of books and a smile.
He was sure his lesson yesterday would make Kakashi Hatake behave.
He needed to finish the lessons on reading and chakra cultivation as soon as possible. That was the only way to get things on the right track.
With that in mind, Umino Ikkaku walked into the classroom.
Beaming, he set his books on the desk and looked around out of habit.
Everyone was being so well-behaved.
But he soon realized something was wrong.
Several desks were empty.
Umino Ikkaku narrowed his eyes, sensing that something was amiss.
A long while later, his furious roar rang through the classroom.
"Yuki Yuichi, Kakashi Hatake, Uchiha Obito!"
"That's Uchiha Obito?"
As they walked along, Sarutobi Asuma spotted Uchiha Obito racing ahead as if his life depended on it and looked surprised.
"Morning, Obito," Yuki Yuichi greeted him with a grin.
Yuhi Kurenai greeted him too. "Morning, Obito."
Kakashi Hatake said nothing, merely looking at him with dead fish eyes.
When Uchiha Obito saw the four of them, he paused in surprise. But when he heard them greet him, he smiled too.
"Morning, everyone."
He said it aloud, but inwardly he relaxed.
He knew he was late, but Yuki Yuichi and the others looked like they were late too.
That immediately made him feel less nervous.
People tended to follow the crowd, and being late was no exception.
If he'd been the only one late, Uchiha Obito would have panicked. But with so many of them, he wasn't nearly as worried.
Sarutobi Asuma glanced at Uchiha Obito, assumed he was skipping class too, and invited him along. "Want to come with us?"
"Sure, sure!" Uchiha Obito thought he was being invited to go to school together and immediately agreed.
Yuki Yuichi gave the two of them a strange look, then cleared his throat. He didn't say anything else, just said, "Well, let's go."
Yuhi Kurenai also looked a little strange when she saw Yuki Yuichi's expression and remembered him saying that Uchiha Obito was often late.
Kakashi Hatake didn't object to Uchiha Obito joining them.
He'd accepted his fate. He was going to get lectured for skipping class anyway, so with one more person there, he'd be lectured a little less.
On the way, Uchiha Obito took a moment to catch his breath after running so hard.
"Hey, yesterday on my way home, I saw a cat that could do a backflip."
"If you want to see it, you can come over to my house."
He looked at the four of them, fell silent for a moment, then added, "My house is pretty big."
"No, I don't want to see it at all." Kakashi Hatake walked a little farther away.
Uchiha Obito had been speaking to all of them, but he'd kept looking at Kakashi Hatake, making him uncomfortable.
Seeing Kakashi Hatake move away, Uchiha Obito stamped his foot. "You lousy mask-wearing guy!"
"I'll teach you a lesson someday!"
"I think you should call the Copy Ninja the Mysterious Masked Man," Yuki Yuichi suggested, moving closer to him.
"Hey..." Kakashi Hatake turned to look at Yuki Yuichi. "I told you not to give me weird nicknames!"
"Then... Dark Kakashi?"
"Pfft..." Sarutobi Asuma couldn't hold back a laugh when he heard "Dark Kakashi."
"Hahaha, Kakashi, you have such a cringey nickname!"
"If you're Dark Kakashi, then I'll be Justice Asuma!"
Kakashi Hatake fell silent at that.
Yuhi Kurenai watched Yuki Yuichi sweetly from the side.
It was nice. Yuichi had made another friend.
Yuki Yuichi hadn't really had any friends before.
She wasn't sure why Yuichi had always played outside before, but Might Guy was the only one who could really be called his friend.
He'd only met Kakashi Hatake a few days before starting school.
But watching Sarutobi Asuma and Uchiha Obito laughing and talking with him, she felt genuinely happy.
Yuichi's smile had become more frequent, too.
Before you continue