Goals

Early the next morning, Ruri was woken by the clatter of pots and pans!

"What's all that noise this early in the morning?" Ruri said, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

After getting dressed, Ruri went to the kitchen.

"Aunt Meiling, you're up so early!" Ruri said when he saw Reika Hyuga cooking in the kitchen.

Mei Ling Hyuga wore only a close-fitting outfit that showed off every curve of her body, and Ruri awkwardly turned his head away.

"Oh, don't you have school today? I'm used to getting up at this time! When I saw you weren't awake yet, I started making breakfast for you!" Meiling said with a smile when she noticed Ruri was up.

"Mm, all right! I'll go wash up." Ruri left the kitchen as soon as he finished speaking. With Mei Ling Hyuga standing in front of him like that, it would have been fine if he really were a five- or six-year-old child, but his actual age was already over twenty. If he kept looking, he would die from a gushing nosebleed.

Ruri went into the courtyard and began drawing water to wash his face.

Before long, Mei Ling Hyuga finished making breakfast, brought the food to the table, and called Ruri over to eat.

"Ruri, hurry up and eat! Once you're done, head to school," Mei Ling Hyuga said as she put food on his plate.

"Mm-hmm, got it!"

Having finished cooking, Mei Ling Hyuga took off her apron. Now her figure was on full display before Ruri's eyes.

Ruri blushed slightly at the sight of Mei Ling Hyuga's perfect curves. After looking for a few seconds, he lowered his head and began wolfing down his food.

"Aunt Meiling, I'm off to school! Bye!" After finishing breakfast, Ruri got ready to leave for school.

Ruri had wanted to clear away the dishes, but Mei Ling Hyuga was worried he would be late and sent him off early.

After a hurried goodbye, Ruri headed toward school. When he arrived, he discovered that he was actually the last one there. Even Uchiha Itachi, who had been knocked unconscious yesterday, had arrived before him.

"Harukawa, why are you all here so early? Doesn't class start at eight thirty?" Ruri asked Momokusa Harukawa doubtfully as he returned to his seat.

"Ugh! Linghua dragged me here. I really wanted to sleep in, but she came to my house first thing this morning and woke me up. Then the two of us came to school! I'm practically dying of sleepiness now!" Momokusa Harukawa said, looking at Ruri and yawning.

"This is our first class today! If I want to become someone as amazing as Tsunade, I have to study hard. You can't become a powerful ninja if you slack off too much!" Reika Hyuga said from the front row, looking back at Ruri and Harukawa.

"My goal is to get stronger too. Let's work hard together, boss!" Akagimaru had somehow taken the seat behind Ruri and spoke to him with a sunny smile.

At the sight of this, Ruri suddenly felt a surge of enthusiasm. He nodded and said, "All right, let's give it our all together and become the strongest ninja!"

"Ruri, are you really tired? Or did you not sleep well last night? Why do you look so listless?" Momokusa Harukawa asked when she saw how drowsy he looked.

"Mm, it's nothing. Uncle Hizashi went out on a mission yesterday, leaving just Aunt Meiling and Neji at home. So Aunt Meiling brought Neji over to stay at my place for a few days. Neji cried several times last night, and I kept getting woken up, so I didn't sleep very well!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ruri was about to fall asleep. Seeing how exhausted he really was, Momokusa Harukawa left him alone and let him sleep for a little while.