The Tardy Duo

Fast asleep, Naruto had no idea what Hashirama and Kurama had done last night.

He only noticed that Kurama sounded much more tired when he called him out of bed that morning.

He quickly got dressed, tied up his hair, ate a hearty breakfast, and made his packed lunch while he was at it.

Naruto: Ah, I'm so amazing. I'm way better than a certain Uchiha Sasuke who does nothing but go on about his big brother all day.

On the way to school, Naruto ran into Sasuke, just as expected.

Huh, Sasuke wasn't in a very good mood today. Had something bad happened last night?

Like... wetting the bed?

And then his mom-no, big brother Itachi-had given him a good spanking!

Naruto thought with ill intent.

Sasuke felt a chill as Naruto stared at him strangely.

Tch, this Naruto must be thinking something weird again!

Sasuke shot Naruto a fierce glare, and Naruto sheepishly looked away.

Uchiha Sasuke's intuition was getting sharper and sharper. Looks like I'd have to talk about him behind his back from now on.

"Hey, Naruto, were you just thinking about something weird?!"

Naruto rubbed his head.

"Huh? I wasn't! I didn't! Don't slander an innocent man!"

!!!∑(ﾟДﾟノ)ノ

Yep, that confirmed it.

"Oh my, oh my, let's hurry up, or we'll be late."

(✪ω✪)

Naruto shook his head and said with a perfectly straight face,

"Heh."

Sasuke slipped his little hands into his pockets, activated his Sharingan in an instant, and looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle.

"Let's go."

"Huh, huh? Why did you activate your eyes?"

Sasuke: Because it looks cool.

"None of your business."

What a joke. What Uchiha wouldn't want to show off the Uchiha's cool Sharingan after awakening it?

But after walking for a while, Sasuke felt that his chakra reserves seemed, perhaps, probably, insufficient.

He quietly deactivated his Sharingan and brushed Naruto off by saying his big brother had told him not to reveal that he had awakened it yet. They slowly headed toward the Ninja Academy.

Ten minutes later.

The Ninja Academy.

"Naruto, how are you late on just your second day of school?!!!"

Iruka, who had specifically spoken with the class's parents last night, especially the parents of those children from major clans, had reverted to his true self.

"Ah. Are we late?"

Hashirama had always been the one to wake Naruto up, but today...

Kurama still wasn't used to it and had suddenly remembered that Naruto probably needed to get up for school.

So he had woken Naruto, then plopped his butt down on Hashirama's stomach while he was at it.

Hashirama: I feel this pressure. It's very heavy, like when I fought Madara back then.

Kurama curled his lip disdainfully. Damn Hashirama woke me up last night, and now he's sleeping like a log.

Ah~ I'm a little sleepy.

I'll sleep a bit longer.

Hashirama: This pressure is concentrated on my abdomen. It feels like Madara is repeatedly stabbing my kidneys with a kunai.

＜(￣ ﹌ ￣)＞

As for Sasuke, he had gone to sleep rather late after last night's failed adventure, and he had been held up for a while after getting up, which was how this had happened.

Sasuke: Hmph, if my big brother had taken me, I wouldn't have been late.

He followed behind Naruto, who was scratching his hair, his face flushing a little.

Heavens, as a member of the proud Uchiha Clan, I'd actually been late on the second day of school.

His behavior stood in stark contrast to Naruto's cheeky grin.

All one could say was that he hadn't gone to school with Naruto enough. Give it a few more days, and Naruto would probably rub off on him.

"Oh, Sasuke. Come in. Stand at the back for five minutes, then go back to your seat."

Clearly, shy children got fed.

Hinata peeked out.

"Hey, Naruto, stop grinning like an idiot and go stand at the back with Sasuke."

Although Iruka's voice was loud, it wasn't a particularly harsh reprimand.

"OK! Sasuke, did you hear that? Get moving."

(^o^)/~

Naruto pushed Sasuke to the back row, with the whole class watching the two of them along the way.

Well, mostly Sasuke. With Naruto's strength and status, those civilian children didn't dare look him in the eye.

Naruto: You little shits! Look me in the eye!!!

Many of the girls kept sneaking glances at Sasuke, with Pink-Haired Forehead and Blond Pig the worst offenders.

Ino actually glanced at Naruto a few times too.

To be honest, Naruto was pretty handsome too, and his blond hair went well with Ino's. It was just that the whisker marks on his face obscured his good looks.

Well, his fashion sense wasn't great either.

Who knew who had picked his clothes?

(Sarutobi: I think they look pretty nice. My grandson Konohamaru likes this style of clothing too.

There was a kind of taste called the older generation's taste.

Hashirama actually thought Naruto dressed quite fashionably too, much better than his own drab, pale-green robe back in the day.

So colorful and orange. Wasn't it great?)

Too bad Naruto already had Hinata. Otherwise, I could give it a shot.

Yes, after observing them all day yesterday, Ino was certain that Hinata and Naruto were definitely more than ordinary friends!

Good friends was just a cover. Heh-heh, I wonder which one confessed first.

Hehehe, it seems even more interesting when I think of it that way.

As expected of a child of the Yamanaka family, her mind could wander so far at such a young age. Iruka felt he couldn't compare.

"Ino! What are you doing?!"

Lost in her fantasies, Ino jolted violently, just like a sleeping student startled by a teacher walking past.

"Uh, well, um, sorry, I spaced out!"

My dad taught me about situations like this!

Even if I get caught, as long as I admit my mistake right away, and since I'm a girl, the teacher will definitely let me off!

Seeing how readily Ino admitted her mistake, Iruka nodded in satisfaction.

He already had a pair to make an example of anyway, so he might as well let Ino off.

"All right, I'll let it slide this time. Next time, you'll stand at the back like Naruto."

Yay, all according to plan.

(＾-＾)V

But I'd already gotten to imagining being a bridesmaid. Ah, I wonder what sort of wedding dress Sasuke-kun likes.

Sasuke: Orange. Do not disturb.

Compared to the other girls, who had to keep turning around to look at Naruto and Sasuke in the back row, Hinata was incredible.

With her 360-degree panoramic vision switched on, she could even give you an X-ray view of Naruto.

Naruto: Why isn't Hinata turning around to look at me? I'm a little sad. Boo-hoo-hoo.

Yes, Hinata hadn't told Naruto about her ability to see a full 360 degrees without activating her Byakugan.

Because she was shy.

⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄

Otherwise, with Naruto's sensory abilities, he would meet Hinata's eyes the very next second.

How thrill-embarrassing that would be.

Anyway, Hinata didn't want to tell Naruto yet, or things would get very awkward afterward.

Hehe.