Enrollment

The day after my birthday, it was time to enroll. Dad and Mom had accepted another long-term mission and left early the morning after my birthday.

At that moment, I eagerly changed into my clothes and prepared to head out, ready to begin my new life at the Ninja Academy!

But the instant I put on my shoes, reached the front door, and prepared to push it open, that unpleasant memory surfaced in my mind again...

My entire body suddenly went limp and powerless. It felt as though my soul had been drained from me as I collapsed in the entryway.

I remembered now. Why had I been that kind of person in my previous life? Why was I so afraid to step outside now—

After graduating elementary school, my parents' divorce and issues with social security registration meant I could no longer remain in the city where I had lived for nine years to continue school. I had to return to my hometown.

Back then, I was anxious, but not afraid. After all, I had gotten along fairly well with everyone in elementary school. It was just a change of environment.

But after I entered the classroom, everyone had moved up from the same area and had already formed their own groups.

And I could only sit alone in a corner at the very back.

Still, that was nothing. I would soon fit in again. Yeah, people in the countryside were simple and honest. I would definitely be able to become friends with them!

As expected, I still made friends.

Although the teacher and my classmates occasionally used a local dialect I could not fully understand during class, life was not too bad overall. I just needed time to adapt.

Even by the second year of middle school, I still had not fully integrated into their circle. But that was fine. As long as I lived my life well and studied hard enough to get into high school, it would be okay.

To fill the time when I was not in class, I fell in love with reading and animation. Those things filled the emptiness inside me and kept me from feeling lonely.

Finally, during the second semester of my second year of middle school, I decided to write a book of my own. I used all my spare time to create, bit by bit with pen and paper, a private joy that belonged only to me.

Just when I thought I had finally found my purpose in life, when I had finally found a land of dreams that belonged to me...

"What the hell is this? Is this supposed to be cool? Hahahaha, come look, everyone! We've got a great literary genius in our class! Come read his book! Hahaha, 'That woman gently leaned against my shoulder, making my heart race'—hahaha, I can't take it..."

"Whoa, I never thought our class had a novelist! Hahaha. Wow, this is so well written. Hey, is this woman based on the class monitor? Hey, Class Monitor, looks like our novelist has a crush on you!"

"What is this garbage? It doesn't make any sense, and the handwriting looks like it was chewed up by a dog. What kind of crap is this? You want to write books with this? Damn, I'm dying! Hahahaha!"

"I was wondering why you've been so distracted lately. So you've been putting all your thoughts into writing books, is that it? At your age, what you should be doing is reading and studying! Why are you always messing around with this nonsense? Have you thought about your future?"

"But I only write in my spare time. My grades haven't slipped. They're the ones making fun of me, they—"

"Right, everything is everyone else's fault. It takes two to make a fight. Why don't they laugh at anyone else? What does it prove if your grades haven't dropped yet? If you keep obsessing over this, you'll ruin your life! Keep indulging in this stuff, and I'll burn all of it, believe me! Every day, instead of studying properly, you're doing this crooked, shortcut-seeking nonsense. Spend that time doing more exercises and reading your textbooks. If you don't study well, you'll rot here for the rest of your life and grow up to farm!"

...After that, I faced not only endless ridicule, but all kinds of bullying.

Those people who strutted around school every day seemed to have found a new toy and began humiliating and attacking me without end.

Everything about me was demeaned as worthless. Teachers scolded me, my family ignored me, classmates laughed at me, bullies humiliated me... The world did not accept me. I was unnecessary. I did not deserve to be here at all.

Why did I have to return to my hometown for school? Why could I not stay somewhere familiar? Why did I have to be treated like this? Why? Why?

Why?!

But in the end, I could not fight back. My grades plummeted under the pressure, and eventually, I gave up on both my dreams and my studies.

I became an unremarkable person who only knew how to muddle through each day at a company.

In my third year of middle school, a girl confessed to me.

But only later did I find out that she had merely joined several others in playing a prank on me...

Even after I started working, my coworker—the brother who stood beside me at my engagement banquet—was always good to me. He was the only one who knew these stories, and the only one who stood up for me.

But he had appeared too late. I had already...

Remembering all this, I could no longer summon the courage to stand up and walk out the door. I was afraid of school. So what if I already had many friends?

I did not belong to this world. In the end, I would still be excluded, laughed at, toyed with, scolded, humiliated, and rejected by this world. I... I, I...

I should not be alive.

[Don't worry, Lord Qingyue. Those people are already...]

"They're gone."

In my daze, I seemed to see a girl appear before me, with long blue-and-white hair and a pair of watery blue eyes.

She was not very tall, small and slight, yet she carried herself with remarkable maturity.

A white shawl, a watery-blue shirt-style top with white sleeves that gave the illusion of layered clothing, along with a black pleated skirt and white boots.

She dressed like a high school girl. I had clearly never met her before, yet she somehow looked familiar...

Her childlike face made her seem only a teenager, and even her loose clothing could not conceal her slender figure.

At that moment, she crouched before me and held out her hand. The gentle smile on her face, like an older sister looking at her younger brother, made my heart tremble.

"Lord Qingyue, step outside and take a look. The people who once stood against you are gone. You are in a brand-new world now. Many new friends are waiting here for you to meet them. They certainly will not reject you."

That was what I had thought before too, but reality was that I had lost the ability to interact with others. I could not fit into any circle, could not fit into society, could not fit into the world.

This was not other people's problem. It was mine. It was my fault.

"The fate of one's life is like a complex set of gears, linked one after another. If even one gear goes wrong, all the gears that follow will turn in a completely different way."

This was... mine...

"All misfortune and sorrow are like raindrops falling one after another. Even the gentlest drops can stir ripples on a tranquil lake. If the rain never stops, one day the water will rise and swallow everything, just as pain can completely surround someone."

Stop it! I wrote all of that. It was worthless...

"Regret is bullying the helpless, pitiful self you once were. Everything you regret now was the best choice you could make at the time. That is my favorite line, Lord Qingyue."

Hearing someone recite words I had written was truly embarrassing. But this time, the tone was not mocking. It was...

Wait, that voice...

"Teacher Hill?"

"Yes. I'm your fan, you know. The story and prose were both very immature, but they were sincere, and they had a unique flavor."

"My... fan? But weren't you..."

"Back then, I was lying in a hospital bed with little time left. I had no joy in life. I simply waited quietly for death to arrive, regretting the past and hating the world. Then, by chance, I saw the novel you posted online. At first, I wanted to laugh just like they did, because what you wrote was not particularly good. But as I kept reading, I was gradually drawn in. I think I came to like your immature, absurd, yet utterly sincere writing style. It was just a shame that I never got to see the ending. Your book suddenly vanished without another update. I eventually died with that regret, and became what I am now."

"So you, like me, were reincarnated after death?"

I did not know if it was my imagination, but Hill seemed to freeze for a moment.

"...That's right. And unexpectedly, quite a few people read your book. Many said it was poorly written, but many others were looking forward to more as well."

I remembered now. In the comment sections of a few chapters, there had occasionally been comments looking forward to the next update...

Perhaps I had simply trapped myself in a dead end. Even if my writing had truly been terrible, if I had kept going, maybe one day I would have improved. Maybe people would have come to like my books.

Perhaps I really should gather my courage and try to fit into this world again.

But I...

"If you're afraid, then hold my hand tightly, Lord Qingyue. Or perhaps I should call you 'Shadow of Dreamscar'?"

Hearing that familiar name immediately made me blush. It had been my first pen name. Ahhh, so embarrassing. What had I been thinking when I chose a name like that?

But... yes. I really did have a fan. It seemed I was not quite so worthless after all. It seemed I could keep writing.

"Mm. Thank you, Teacher Hill."

In the end, with Hill supporting me, I finally pushed open the door and stepped onto the street. Konoha's streets were as bustling as ever. No one looked my way. There was no laughter, no criticism.

Everyone seemed unable to see Hill, but she was truly holding my hand. She led me all the way to the entrance of the Ninja Academy, then gave me a push and forcibly shoved me inside.

"Qingyue, you finally made it!"

It was Rin.

"You're pretty late. I thought you'd be late like that idiot."

It was Kakashi.

"Qingyue!"

"Qingyue!"

...They were my other companions.

Obito? Oh, that guy seemed to have been late around this time. I would help him collect what he needed later.

That was right. Here, I had new companions and a new life. I was no longer Shadow of Dreamscar, the one who had been laughed at and humiliated. I was Qingyue.

Just as I wanted to turn around and thank Hill, she had already disappeared. Yet a familiar voice echoed in my mind.

[Congratulations to Lord Qingyue for taking this brave step. As a reward, please continue writing whenever you have time!]

[Isn't that supposed to be a reward for me? Why do I still have to do something?]

[Oh my, isn't having someone read your book and become immersed in it already a wonderful reward for you?]

That did seem right. If someone read my books and liked them, I would probably be happy enough to fly.

After listening to the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, deliver his massive Will of Fire pyramid scheme speech, we completed post-enrollment matters such as class assignments. In the end, Obito was still nowhere to be seen.

Fortunately, Rin, Kakashi, and I had been assigned to the same class. Naturally, Obito was in it too. Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, and the others were there as well.

It looked like I had successfully slipped into the circle of the Konoha Twelve. My days ahead should only get better and better!

After the opening ceremony ended, Obito finally rushed over. After teasing him a few times, I gave him the enrollment documents that belonged to him, and only then did he finally settle down.