By the time Ruri and Akagimaru reached school, class was about to start. Most of their classmates were already in the classroom when they arrived. Ruri spotted Momokusa Harukawa reading at her desk, then went straight to his own seat and sat down.
"Morning, Harukawa! Have you eaten?" Ruri asked, looking at her as he settled into his seat.
Momokusa Harukawa looked up at Ruri, then nodded. "Yes, good morning, Ruri! I've already eaten. Have you?"
"Hehe, me too! Do you know what class we have today?" Ruri asked Momokusa Harukawa with a smile.
"No idea. The teacher didn't tell us before school ended yesterday!"
"Well, I guess we'll find out when he gets here! Hopefully we won't just sit in class listening to him lecture. That's so boring!" Ruri said with a wry smile.
Just as Ruri and Momokusa Harukawa finished talking, their teacher walked through the classroom door.
The class fell silent as the teacher entered, except for three or four students who were still fooling around. "Get back to your seats and sit properly," he said. "Class has already started!"
At Teacher Asuma Sarutobi's words, the children who had been messing around snapped out of it and hurried back to their seats.
Once everyone was seated, the teacher set his textbook on the lectern and announced loudly, "We won't be having a lecture in the classroom today. Instead, we're going to have ninja sparring practice!"
"Ninja sparring?"
"Hell yeah! No classroom lessons!"
"You can't learn everything just by listening to me lecture in the classroom. We need hands-on practice so you can improve your skills."
Ruri had been distracted, but the moment he heard Asuma Sarutobi mention ninja sparring, he looked up at the teacher with sudden interest.
"We're doing ninja sparring today? Doesn't that mean I won't get to sleep? I was up all night yesterday!"
"That's what you get for staying up all night playing games! Serves you right!"
The children below grumbled and teased one another without holding back.
Asuma Sarutobi banged the chalkboard eraser against his desk a few times, then announced, "All right, everyone, follow me to the playground!"
With that, all the students rose from their seats and filed out in an orderly fashion.
"Ninja sparring... Mom and Dad are going to ask how I did again when I get home!" a boy said with a miserable expression as he stood up.
"Yeah, this round of ninja sparring will just be another chance for Ruri Hyuga and Uchiha Itachi to show off!"
"There's not much point in fighting. Our class's Ruri Hyuga is definitely going to take first place again!"
The girls heading to the playground for ninja sparring seemed rather excited, chattering in the corridor about how handsome Ruri looked when he won.
"Ruri, let's go! Otherwise, the teacher will scold us again!" Momokusa Harukawa said as she stood up from her seat.
Ruri nodded, rose from his seat, and left the classroom with Momokusa Harukawa.
"Harukawa, have you been practicing your Ninjutsu properly lately?" Ruri asked her as they walked down the corridor.
Momokusa Harukawa looked at Ruri with a smile. "Don't worry. I've been practicing my Ninjutsu diligently all this time. Don't be too surprised when you see it in a little while! Hehe!"
With that, Momokusa Harukawa ran toward the playground with her hands behind her back.
Lingering behind her, Ruri smiled and thought, She's so cute! Well then, let's see what all your recent training has accomplished!
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