As soon as Daigo-sensei finished his long-winded lecture, finally signaling the end of the first day of academy lessons, Ryuji felt a weight lift off his shoulders. Lunch break. "Thank fucking god," he muttered under his breath. The classroom erupted into chatter as soon as the door clicked shut behind Daigo. The energy in the room flipped like a switch—girls giggling, boys messing around, people making new friends. And, of course, Ryuji became a prime target for all the attention.
A group of girls quickly surrounded him, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Ryuji-kun, how did you get so strong?" one of them asked, leaning forward eagerly.
"Do you train a lot?" another added, her eyes practically sparkling.
"Are you really stronger than Neji?"
The questions came flooding in like a tsunami, and Ryuji couldn't be bothered to deal with this shit. He plastered on a fake smile, answering with half-hearted "Yeahs" and "I guess so," barely paying attention. He wasn't about to waste his energy trying to entertain them. It was annoying as hell, but he wasn't about to piss anyone off on the first day either.
Eventually, they got the hint—thank god—and peeled away, whispering and giggling amongst themselves as they headed to their own groups. Ryuji let out a long breath. Finally.
"Alright," he thought, his eyes scanning the room. "Time to get something real done."
He spotted Rock Lee sitting by himself, face buried in his lunchbox. The dude had this serious vibe to him, like he was already prepping himself for greatness. Ryuji liked that energy. So, without hesitating, he strode over and plopped himself down next to Lee.
"Yo," Ryuji said, casual but direct. "Lee, right?"
Lee blinked, looking up from his rice with wide, enthusiastic eyes. "Y-Yeah! That's me!"
Ryuji smirked. "I've seen how focused you are in class. You're into training, huh? Maybe we can spar sometime."
Lee's eyes practically lit up, like Ryuji had just offered him a golden ticket to the best thing ever. "Really? You'd want to spar with me?"
Ryuji gave a small nod. "Sure. We can help each other get stronger, right?"
"Absolutely!" Lee grinned, and just like that, the two hit it off. They kept talking—about training methods, goals, and how they both wanted to push their limits. Lee was clearly all in on taijutsu, and while he wasn't strong yet, Ryuji could see the potential. He admired that level of dedication.
After a while, Ryuji noticed Neji sitting by the window, arms crossed, staring off into space like he was too good for everyone else in the room. Typical.
"Well, shit, might as well try again," Ryuji muttered under his breath.
He stood up, leaving Lee behind, and made his way over to Neji, who didn't even bother to look at him. Ryuji leaned against the desk, giving him a nod. "Yo, Neji."
Neji's pale eyes flicked to him for a brief second before glancing away. "What do you want?" he asked coldly, barely masking his disdain.
"Just thought we could talk, maybe spar sometime."
Neji let out a small, condescending chuckle. "Tch. You're strong, but you're not worth my time."
Ryuji clenched his fists, feeling that familiar itch of frustration creep up, but he forced himself to stay cool. "Maybe you'll change your mind after you see what I can really do."
"Doubt it," Neji said flatly, and that was that. He turned his head away, the conversation clearly over before it even started.
"Alright, asshole, whatever," Ryuji thought, walking away. He wasn't about to waste his time kissing Neji's ass. Lee was more than enough, and maybe he'd find some other people worth his time in class. If Neji wanted to act like a prick, that was on him.
After a few more dull-ass lessons, the day finally came to an end. Ryuji gathered his things and headed out of the classroom, making his way back home. He walked through the streets of Konoha, the sun dipping below the horizon, casting warm shades of orange over the village. It was quiet, peaceful—almost too peaceful for his liking, but it gave him time to think.
By the time he reached home, the hunger gnawing at his stomach was impossible to ignore. He stepped inside and dropped his bag onto the floor. "Alright, time to deal with this shit," he muttered to himself, pulling open the fridge.
He stared at the shelves for a moment. Instant noodles, veggies, and…more noodles.
Sitting down at the table, slurping up the noodles, Ryuji couldn't help but think about everything that happened today. Friends. Lee was cool. Neji? A pain in the ass, but maybe he'd come around. As for the rest of the class…well, he could deal with them later.
"One thing at a time," he thought, stuffing another bite into his mouth.