Chapter 3: An Unforgettable Scene
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The next day, Yoruha arrived at school.
As soon as he entered the classroom, he saw that Naruto was already there.
Naruto remembered Yoruha now after yesterday.
The difference between Yoruha and Shino was that he didn't wrap himself up from head to toe.
People simply hadn't noticed him before because he never took part in anything and never played with the other classmates.
The moment class ended, he would go straight home.
When Naruto saw Yoruha, he stood up and waved enthusiastically. "Yo, Yoruha!"
Yoruha was a little surprised, but he still smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.
Then he casually found a seat and sat down.
Naruto's actions drew the attention of many students in the class.
Though he had always been dead last, he had also always been very good at attracting attention from his classmates.
A lot of people looked over toward Yoruha.
Some of the girls froze when they saw him.
They had never noticed there was such a good-looking boy in their class.
"He's no less handsome than Sasuke. I never even noticed he existed before."
"What are you talking about? Sasuke's the best, no one compares. But... he really is pretty handsome."
...
The girls started debating whether Yoruha or Sasuke was better-looking.
Many of them still thought Sasuke was better, though not because of his looks, but because of his overall ability.
Some girls had already rushed over to Yoruha first to get a head start.
For example, Ino.
She had always cared a lot about looks.
She liked Sasuke largely because Sasuke was handsome.
Now that she had discovered a male classmate whose appearance was in no way inferior to Sasuke's, she naturally wasn't going to let the opportunity pass.
Ino leaned in close to Yoruha, her face flushed red, and said, "H-hello, I'm Ino. I... how come I've never seen you before?"
Yoruha frowned.
He thought to himself doubtfully, "Was my presence really this weak before?"
"I mean, I didn't want to stand out, but never even seen me? That's a bit ridiculous, isn't it?"
Yoruha was speechless.
He just hadn't wanted trouble, not that he was some kind of shut-in.
But he hadn't expected the class to truly have so little impression of him.
They had studied in the same class for six years—an entire six years—and all that got him was a single line: How come I've never seen you before?
Looking at the shy Ino, Yoruha could only smile and say, "I'm Yoruha. Nice to meet you."
His teasing answer made Ino even more embarrassed.
"Sorry, Yoruha."
Yoruha had only been joking with her, of course. He wouldn't actually blame her.
Besides, the matter itself was largely his own doing.
"It's fine. Let's just treat it like we're meeting for the first time."
Yoruha smiled faintly.
The moment Ino saw Yoruha's smile, her heart started pounding wildly, and she nearly fainted.
The girls in this world could be a little dramatic.
When they got flustered, they really might pass out from their racing heartbeat.
Just then, Shikamaru walked over.
In his lazy tone, he said, "Your eyes were always on Sasuke, so it's normal you never noticed Yoruha."
Shikamaru came over and sat down beside Yoruha.
"Hello. I always saw you leave as soon as class ended, so I never really got to know you."
"I'm Shikamaru."
Shikamaru held out a hand.
Yoruha hadn't expected Shikamaru to have been paying attention to him all this time.
"Yeah, I'm Yoruha."
As he spoke, he reached out and shook Shikamaru's hand.
It made sense that Shikamaru had noticed him.
With his brain, of course he would.
Even if only for his looks—there was only Sasuke in the class who could compare.
After they chatted casually for a bit, Sasuke walked in.
The moment he arrived, every girl in the class focused on him.
"Ah, Sasuke, so handsome."
...
A whole crowd of girls immediately swarmed toward Sasuke.
Shikamaru lay sprawled on the desk and muttered weakly, "Women are such a pain."
Who would have thought that the second he said it, Ino shot him a glare from across Yoruha.
"Shikamaru, what did you say?"
Shikamaru turned his head, only then realizing that Ino hadn't gone charging over to Sasuke with the other girls.
"I-I wasn't talking about you."
Ino gave him a look. "Hmph."
Although Ino glanced at Sasuke a few times, she spent far more time looking at Yoruha.
Before, Sasuke had monopolized her attention, so she had never noticed Yoruha.
But once she did notice him, she realized there was actually no one around him.
And his looks were not inferior to Sasuke's in the slightest.
Of course she knew how to choose.
Sasuke was nice, but there were way too many girls around him.
And Sakura was competing with her too.
In only an instant, Ino had already thought through the matter.
And made her choice.
Nearby, Naruto saw Sakura pushing her way in front of Sasuke, looking completely lovestruck.
He got so angry his teeth clenched.
"Damn it, Sakura only has eyes for Sasuke. That bastard Sasuke—I absolutely won't hand Sakura over to you!"
As he spoke, Naruto marched toward Sasuke's seat.
Naruto's actions attracted a lot of attention.
Even Yoruha looked over.
Naruto jumped onto the desk in front of Sasuke, crouching on it as he glared at him.
Sasuke refused to back down, glaring right back at Naruto.
The girls beside them were furious at Naruto's behavior.
"Idiot Naruto, don't glare at Sasuke like that!"
"Naruto, get down right now! How dare you stare at Sasuke like that!"
Yoruha kept watching the whole scene. He had a strange feeling it was familiar.
His memory was already a little blurry.
But he felt certain that something astonishing was about to happen next.
Sure enough, in the next moment, someone in front of Naruto accidentally jabbed Naruto in the backside with an elbow.
Naruto lost his balance and pitched straight toward Sasuke.
What happened next made Yoruha's eyes widen.
The girls nearby were heartbroken at the sight.
"Ahhh! Damn it, Naruto, what are you doing? How dare you—how dare you do that to Sasuke? Sasuke's first kiss—it's gone!"
"You bastard!"
...
Even Yoruha was stunned by what he had just seen.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "T-these two really have a close relationship, huh?"
Shikamaru beside him was also speechless. "Naruto, that idiot."
Ino wore the exact same expression as Yoruha. "That should've been both of their first kisses, right?"
If this had been before, Ino would have been furious.
But now she didn't really feel that way.
Unlike Sakura, who genuinely liked Sasuke very much, Ino's fondness for Sasuke had partly come from competing with Sakura and partly from liking his looks.
So it wasn't hard for her to like someone else quickly.
As for this scene between Naruto and Sasuke, Yoruha felt he would remember it for the rest of his life.
A dark little thought surfaced in his heart. "Could the reason Naruto keeps chasing after Sasuke later be that they actually have some kind of special feelings for each other?"
The moment that idea struck him, Yoruha felt uncomfortable all over.
"That's too absurd. Better strangle that thought right now. The more you think about it, the scarier it gets."
Both Sasuke and Naruto were gagging nonstop from what had just happened.
Sasuke looked at Naruto with utter disgust. "Naruto, you idiot, what are you trying to do?"
Naruto wasn't backing down either and shouted angrily, "I should be asking you that, you bastard! What are you trying to do?"
The two started arguing the instant their eyes met.
Sakura, helpless, could only pull them apart.
To stop them from fighting again, she sat down between them.
From that moment onward, Sakura became the link balancing the relationship between the two of them.