The First Day of School

After Iruka finished explaining the basic school rules and class schedule, a warmer smile spread across his face. He clapped his hands.

"Great! Now, everyone, let's get to know one another.

Starting with the first row, let's go around and introduce ourselves! You can tell us your name, what you like, what you dislike, and what your dreams for the future are!"

The children immediately began whispering among themselves.

Naturally, the first to speak was Uzumaki Naruto, who sat in the front row.

"My name's Uzumaki Naruto!! I'm six years old. My dream is to become the greatest Hokage and earn the recognition of everyone in the village! People don't seem to like me much right now, but I'll train with all my might, and one day I'll achieve my goal! I like Ichiraku Ramen best, and I hate having to wait three minutes for instant noodles."

His voice rang out, loud and confident, but the children around him all looked at him with disdain.

Naruto, of course, didn't care in the slightest.

Iruka-sensei smiled somewhat awkwardly, but still offered some encouragement.

"That's a great dream, Naruto! Keep at it!"

Next up was a freckled child.

"My name is..."

And so, before long, it was Uchiha Sasuke's turn.

"My name's Uchiha Sasuke. I like tomatoes, and I hate sweets. My dream is to become a ninja even more powerful than my older brother and become captain of the Konoha Military Police Force."

His cool introduction, combined with his reader-level good looks, drew lovestruck stares from girls all around the room.

Haruno Sakura stood up and stole a glance at Sasuke, her face turning faintly red.

"I'm Haruno Sakura! What I like is..." She shot another quick glance at Sasuke.

"...And I hate wide foreheads! My dream is..." Naturally, she couldn't bring herself to say the last part. She covered her face and fidgeted in embarrassment.

Yamanaka Ino stood up next.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino! I like flowers and handsome guys! I hate people with wide foreheads who are full of themselves!"

"What did you say?" Sakura glared at her.

"I wasn't talking about you," Ino shot back.

Sparks flew between the two of them. Iruka hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.

Nara Shikamaru stood up with a yawn.

"Nara Shikamaru. I like relaxing and watching clouds. I hate troublesome things. My dream... I guess I'll just become a ninja."

Akimichi Choji chewed on a snack.

"Akimichi Choji! I like barbecue and snacks. I hate people who waste food! And people who call me fat. My dream is to eat every kind of food in the world!"

Hyuga Hinata timidly stood up.

"My name is... Hyuga Hinata... I, I like..."

She stole a glance at Naruto.

"I... like sweets. I don't dislike anything... My dream is... to become stronger."

After saying all that, she seemed to have used up every ounce of strength she had. She slowly sank back into her seat.

Aburame Shino pushed up his sunglasses.

"Aburame Shino. I like observing insects. I dislike people who disturb their habitats. My dream is to discover a new species."

Inuzuka Kiba put an arm around Akamaru.

"I'm Inuzuka Kiba! This is Akamaru! We love fighting and eating meat! We hate weaklings! Our dream is to become Hokage!"

At long last, it was Hyuga Ningxue's turn.

Only then did everyone realize that there was still someone sitting in the back.

He should have been impossible to miss, yet no one had paid any attention to him.

"Hyuga Ningxue. I like quiet. I hate noise and seafood. I don't have a dream." (Actually, I want to break this damn Caged Bird. But could I say that?)

He sat back down and silently gazed out the window.

His introduction had been so brief and blunt that quite a few people were put off.

They also found that he somehow seemed even more irritating than Sasuke. (In short, these kids thought he was trying too hard to act cool.)

Still, some of the girls looked at him in admiration. They hadn't realized that such a handsome boy was sitting behind them.

For a moment, they all stared at him with curious looks.

Iruka-sensei paused, then tried to encourage him. "Uh... Hyuga, was it? You can take your time finding a dream..."

A moment later, the bell rang, bringing the first class of the school year to an end. The children were free to spend the rest of the period however they liked.

"All right, everyone, class is over." With that, Iruka gathered his things and left the classroom.

"Hey, hey, did you see that white-haired guy at the back? Hyuga Ningxue?" A freckled boy was the first to speak, his voice openly annoyed. "What was with that attitude? 'I don't have a dream'? What's he trying to prove, acting all cool?"

"Exactly!" a tall, skinny boy chimed in, deliberately imitating Ningxue's voice and expression. "I like quiet, I hate noise. Tch, like we're bothering him or something!"

"Aren't all the Hyuga like that? Look at Hyuga Hinata. She talks so quietly you can barely hear her. But this guy's even worse. He acts like he can't be bothered to talk to anyone."

Someone tried to sum things up, but clearly confused Ningxue's aloofness with Hinata's shyness.

And the idiot Uzumaki Naruto went straight for the blunt insult.

"What's with that guy..." Naruto didn't lower his voice at all. "He's even more stuck-up than that Uchiha guy..."

"Hey, look, look! Hyuga-kun is so handsome. He seems so cool and quiet."

A girl whispered to her friends.

"I still think Sasuke-kun is more handsome. He looks so cool sitting there, unlike that guy, who seems kind of creepy."

"So troublesome."

Shikamaru lay slumped over his desk, irritated by all the chatter around him.

Beside him, Choji kept stuffing snacks into his mouth, crunching away.

Sasuke continued sitting there, posing, completely unfazed by the admiring looks from the girls around him.

He looked at Hyuga Ningxue.

"What a strange guy."

Shino remained silent.

Kiba said, "Hmph! That guy doesn't look like much of a fighter! Right, Akamaru?"

Akamaru barked.

"Woof!"

Hyuga Hinata stole glances at her fellow clan member.

She listened to her classmates talking about him. She wanted to say something, but she didn't dare.

She knew this Branch Family member, but not well. After all, his hair color was so unusual.

Hyuga Ningxue, the subject of all the chatter, didn't care about what they were saying. At that moment, he was still wondering whether he should learn a wide-area Wind Release Ninjutsu.

Back in Iruka's office, he set his lesson plans down and slumped into his chair.

He gently rubbed his brow, troubled by some of the problem children in his class.

After hearing their introductions today, he'd realized that every child in his class—whether they came from a major clan, a smaller clan, or a civilian family—had one issue or another.

It wasn't that they had psychological problems.

It was just that they were harder to handle and discipline than ordinary children, and much harder to figure out.

He gently rocked his chair and murmured under his breath.

"The future looks bleak."