As soon as the lunch break bell rang that day, Class 2-A erupted into noise. Neji sat by the window, slowly packing up his desk. Sunlight streamed through the glass, casting mottled shadows across his delicate features and making his dark eyes seem unfathomably deep.
"Hey, new kid!" a hoarse voice called from behind him. "I heard you got in through connections?"
Neji's hands did not pause in the slightest as he continued lining up his scrolls. Three boys gathered around him. The fat one in the lead planted a foot on the chair in front of Neji, making the ink bottle on the desk wobble.
"Are you deaf? Fujiwara's lapdog!" The fat boy bent down, reeking of the onions and garlic from lunch. His name was Yamamoto Ken. His father was a minor official at the Konoha Tax Office, and he always acted superior around commoners.
Neji finally looked up, his gaze as calm as if he were looking at a stone. "Move your foot."
The noise in the classroom suddenly dropped several notches. A few girls covered their mouths, while the boys wore expressions of eager anticipation. Yamamoto Ken's face turned liver-red. He had not expected this skinny transfer student to defy him in public.
"Do you know who my father is?" Yamamoto grabbed Neji by the collar. "Believe it or not, I can have you thrown out of school tomorrow!"
The corners of Neji's lips curled up slightly. "Does your father know you bully your classmates at school?" His voice was not loud, but it carried clearly enough for everyone nearby to hear. "Lord Yamamoto from the Tax Office must hold quite a powerful position. I wonder how much village money he has embezzled? Well... judging by your size, probably quite a lot."
"Y-You, what nonsense are