Dropping out

"Heh, it's nothing. Go ahead and eat. It was just a passing thought. Sorry for interrupting your lunch."

Luo Mang hadn't meant to get an answer. He had only opened his mouth to sigh over it, never expecting to say it aloud.

Words spoken were like water spilled-there was no taking them back. All he could do was wave a hand and brush it off.

"Oh..."

Smoking didn't ask any further questions, not because he didn't want to, but because he was too shy to speak.

He thought privately that Lord Mang actually liked girls with long hair...

Time flew by.

The sun hanging high in the sky slowly sank.

The tests were over, and it was time to go home.

Iruka looked everyone over, then clapped his hands and stood in their midst.

"Sasuke was once again the best performer in today's tests. Very well done. Naruto came in last again. Try harder next time."

"Still, quite a few of you did well. I'll bring you something tasty tomorrow as a reward. Have a good trip home."

"Awesome..."

However mature children in this world might be, they still loved sweets. The moment they heard Iruka's words, their faces lit up.

"All right, everyone, head home. Take it easy on the way."

With that, Iruka turned and headed toward the teachers' office in the school building.

Seeing this, Luo Mang hurried after him instead of joining the crowd heading home.

A few people in the crowd noticed what he was doing.

"The tests are already over, and he's still going to see the teacher? What's going on?"

Shikamaru frowned, unable to figure it out.

Sasuke, who had been watching everyone all along, noticed as well. He had visited the other classes today but hadn't found anyone suspicious. Frustrated, he could only wait for tonight's information. If more words appeared in the diary, he should be able to find a clue.

He merely gave Luo Mang a passing glance as the boy went after their teacher.

"Probably not him. He's a little weak."

Tap, tap, tap!

Luo Mang hurried along, taking several quick strides to catch up with Iruka.

"Sensei, there's something I need to discuss."

"Oh, oh, if it isn't student Luo Mang. What is it?"

Hearing the call, Iruka stopped and turned around. Remembering his students' names and faces clearly was an essential part of being a teacher, though in this case, it was also because he was their homeroom teacher. Anyone else might have drawn a complete blank at the name, unable even to picture his face.

"Phew..."

Once he caught up, Luo Mang let out a breath and spoke.

"Sensei, I want to drop out."

"Drop out?!"

Iruka exclaimed, his face full of disbelief.

"You'll graduate and become a ninja in just a few months. Why?"

Luo Mang pressed his lips together, looking troubled, then gave the explanation he had prepared long ago.

"Well, sensei, you know I'm just a civilian orphan. I can barely afford food, let alone become a ninja. I can't even afford ninja tools. I want to leave school and take some simple missions to earn money."

Ninjas weren't the only ones who could take missions. Ordinary people could accept them too, such as D-rank missions. Most simply weren't very willing, which was why newly promoted Genin ended up taking jobs like finding lost cats and dogs.

It was a perfectly reasonable explanation. Luo Mang had decided to do missions during the day to save money and write in his diary at night to draw rewards. If he didn't get anything good, he would hire someone to help him flee when the crisis arrived. He could pretend to take a mission, escape, and return once the crisis was over.

There was no helping it. He had to make some plans if he wanted to survive.

"Uh..."

Iruka froze at those words, his expression stiffening. He came from an ordinary background himself and understood all too clearly the gap between ordinary people and the great clans. A ninja from an ordinary family would probably rise no higher than Chunin.

If he really were that strong, would he still be teaching here?

The boy's circumstances were pitiful, too. He had been taken in and thought he could live a normal life, only for his adoptive parents to die. For certain reasons, their death benefits had never been paid.

He acted like a little adult every day. Iruka wasn't hard-hearted; he was human, and he wanted to help, but he simply didn't have the means.

Since the boy had made his choice, Iruka stopped trying to hold him back and nodded.

"All right. I'll report it. You don't need to come tomorrow. Go do what you need to do."

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

It had worked without any trouble. After thanking him, Luo Mang left.

Watching Luo Mang's retreating back, Iruka sighed helplessly.

"Ah..."

Luo Mang had barely stepped out of the school building when he encountered a man wearing a mask, with his forehead protector covering one eye.

Kakashi?

What's he doing here?

Didn't he first appear when he became a teacher? That should be February at the earliest. Shouldn't he be reading Icha Icha Paradise all day right now? Yet he doesn't even have it with him.

As Kakashi passed, his listless eyes merely flicked toward Luo Mang before looking away.

He walked straight past him and entered the school building.

Maybe this was something that happened off-screen. Whatever.

Luo Mang shook his head, cut off that train of thought, and headed home.

Using what little money he had, he bought some instant noodles, convenience foods, and vegetables and meat for an occasional better meal, then made it home.

Click.

"Finally back..."

He put everything in the kitchen and started cooking. It was his first day, after all, so he ought to make something nice. He began slicing the meat.

The diary...

I'll write while I chop. Cooking takes a while anyway.

Splash, splash...

He turned on the tap and washed the ingredients while composing words in his mind.

Sasuke Uchiha had just returned home and lain down when he sensed writing appearing in the diary in his mind. He shut the door and windows, drew the curtains, and hurriedly took it out to read.

[The weather was clear today. A pretty good day, I suppose.]

[I took the first step and dropped out. But I actually ran into Mr. Fifty-Fifty while doing it. Isn't he in his slacker phase right now? What's an elite Jonin doing in the school building? Could he be here to see Naruto Uzumaki? Naruto is his late teacher's orphaned son, after all.]

"Mr. Fifty-Fifty?"

Sasuke murmured the name. It really was strange. Ninja names came in all sorts, but why did this one feel so odd when he said it?

Could it be a nickname, like that Sunny Sasuke name he used for me earlier?

Naruto again. Is Naruto really that important?

Sasuke's brows knitted tightly as he recalled the afternoon's tests. No matter how he thought about it, Naruto Uzumaki, who had come dead last, didn't seem like the son of anyone impressive!

He didn't look the part at all.

The diary had stated that this man called Mr. Fifty-Fifty was an elite Jonin-one of a village's reserves of fighting strength.

Anyone capable of teaching him would naturally have been an elite Jonin as well. Something was strange here!

[On second thought, maybe Kakashi came to see his future students. After April, he'll be teaching the three kids: Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno.]

[Whatever. It has nothing to do with me anyway. Dinner's ready. Time to eat!]