"Hey… is it okay if I sit here?"
The protagonist of this world, Naruto Uzumaki, walked up to Kairi Shinatokawa, fidgeting nervously.
"Sure. I just got here myself. I don't think anyone's claimed this seat," Kairi replied calmly, showing no particular emotion as he glanced at Naruto.
"Awesome!" Naruto grinned and quickly plopped down beside him, clearly excited by the acceptance.
Kairi had already known Naruto not personally, but by observation. After realizing he had reincarnated into the world of Naruto, he had naturally become curious about the main character. During one of his strolls around the village, he had made a point to locate Naruto.
At the time, Kairi had no intention of approaching him. Just watching from a distance was enough. After all, Naruto was a jinchūriki his body housed the Nine-Tails. That meant there were surely ANBU keeping constant watch on him. As a completely ordinary civilian, getting close to Naruto wouldn't gain Kairi anything and might even bring trouble.
Worse still, Danzo might also be observing. While the Third Hokage would likely investigate and then disregard a harmless civilian like him, Danzo… might not. All it would take is one background move from someone in his position to destroy Kairi's life.
Then there was the villagers' hatred. Anyone who associated with the "monster" was likely to be viewed the same. The first time Kairi saw Naruto, the atmosphere around him was suffocating cold stares, harsh whispers, and that word repeatedly spat from people's mouths: "monster."
Kairi had watched from the side, his chest tightening.
If their roles had been reversed, even with two lifetimes' worth of willpower, Kairi doubted he could've stayed sane. It was the same psychological pressure Gaara once suffered but perhaps worse.
No Gaara had raw power from the start, and he was too young to understand it anyway. If Kairi had been in his place, he might have turned out even more extreme. With that kind of treatment, who wouldn't eventually want revenge?
"You call me a monster? Fine. Then I'll become one for real. And once I have enough strength… I'll show you exactly what a real monster looks like."
Kairi's first real interaction with Naruto came later. One day, Naruto had tried to buy some food, even offering more money than necessary only to be thrown out of the store. His coins were tossed onto the ground and stomped on. The crowd laughed cruelly.
Kairi couldn't take it anymore. He didn't speak up he wasn't that reckless but he went and bought the same food Naruto had tried to get. Then he followed him quietly to a spot where no one was around.
"Were you trying to buy these?" he asked, holding out the food.
"Y-yeah," Naruto stammered in reply. Kairi still remembered how small his voice had been, how unsure.
Naruto stared wide-eyed as Kairi handed him the food. Then, as if remembering something, he frantically tried to clean the dirty coins with the cleanest part of his shirt. He handed them over with both hands, hopeful and nervous.
Kairi had accepted them and even counted the money pretending to care about the profit margin before walking away with a satisfied look. In truth, he had no interest in the money. He just needed a reason to help without drawing attention. As long as he didn't act friendly, no one would read too much into it. Still, the whole act had been impulsive.
Watching the scene in the anime had been heartbreaking enough. Seeing it unfold in real life was even worse. The oppression Naruto endured was unbearable to witness, and Kairi had felt powerless. He couldn't just help openly not without putting himself at risk so he took the only path he could: one that let him offer help while still playing the role of an indifferent outsider.
If others believed he was just trying to profit off Naruto, that was fine. It kept him safe.
Friendship? He had to think about his own survival first. Maybe if he were alone in this world, he could afford to throw caution to the wind but he wasn't.
Of course, Naruto didn't know any of this. To him, those dirty coins didn't matter. It was the first time someone hadn't looked at him with cold eyes. That alone lit a fire in him.
They ran into each other again later. Naruto's eyes lit up the instant he saw Kairi, and he started walking over only to stop midway.
He had felt it.
The moment he tried to approach, he sensed the stares around him stares filled with judgment. And he understood. If he got too close to Kairi, he'd drag him down. Just like all the other kids had been forbidden from playing with him.
In the end, Naruto had simply passed by in silence, head down. Kairi had breathed a quiet sigh of relief, knowing he wouldn't be targeted but also feeling something twist inside his chest.
What a good kid, he thought. Even after everything… he still worried about others.
Back in the classroom, Kairi looked over at Naruto sitting beside him. He figured the only reason Naruto felt brave enough to approach was because there were no adults nearby. Kids were simpler many of them didn't even understand what "monster" meant. They just parroted what they heard from their parents.
To Naruto, the real cruelty came from the adults. School, at least, felt like a place where he could approach someone who didn't hate him.
Kairi thought about Naruto's personality in the future and sighed. How could he have turned out any differently? With the Nine-Tails sealed inside him and constant hatred surrounding him, what kind of person wouldn't be broken?
Perhaps the only reason he hadn't become a true monster… was because of Asura's will?
That thought made Kairi shiver. The idea that personality could be "preordained" by bloodline or fate… it was terrifying.
He really hoped that wasn't the case. Otherwise, it was just too cruel.
After a while, a man with his hair tied back and a prominent scar across his nose finally strolled into the classroom. He coughed a few times as he reached the front.
The class continued its noisy chaos no one paid him much attention. These days, with no war and no strict discipline, academy students weren't nearly as well-behaved.
Kairi looked up at the man on the platform. Of course he knew who this was Naruto's first teacher. Iruka Umino. A chunin.
He remembered Iruka's backstory too his parents had died in the Nine-Tails' attack. At first, he hadn't known how to deal with Naruto. But eventually, he came to understand and accept him.
All in all, Iruka was a good teacher a proper one. And now that Kairi knew his character, he planned to take full advantage of their teacher-student relationship. He'd ask a lot of questions.
"I'm Iruka Umino. Starting today, I'll be your teacher," he began. "You can call me Teacher Iruka. Now, I'm going to take roll call. When I call your name, please stand and introduce yourself. I'll go first as an example."
"Iruka Umino. My favorite food is Ichiraku Ramen. I like people who are positive and hard-working. I don't dislike anyone in particular, but I'm not a fan of mixed rice dishes. In the future, I hope to become an excellent teacher and raise many exceptional students."
With the intro done, Iruka picked up the class list and began the roll call.
"Nara Shikamaru…"
"Akimichi Choji…"
"Yamanaka Ino…"
"Haruno Sakura…"
Kairi listened to the names some unfamiliar, some all too familiar. When he heard Haruno Sakura's name, his expression darkened slightly.
According to his plan… he would eventually have to apologize to her.