Pakin had to endure another half hour’s worth of awkward silence before more students trickled into the lecture hall. He waved enthusiastically at the newcomers, while Kanae stoically nodded at each new arrival. Most of the kids who arrived chose to either sit by themselves or with the people they’d arrived with, saying a quiet hello to Pakin as they passed him.

  I should tone down the peppiness. Pakin stopped waving so excitedly, and slowly, folks started to fill up the seats closer to him. Curiously, none of them decided to sit with him.

  He picked up a few names here and there: Taka, Seiketsu, Fukasa, Shizuka, and more. However, as the rate of people entering slowed, he worried he’d be stuck sitting alone on his first day.

  Shit, am I giving off weird kid energy? Pakin thought about his behavior; none of it struck him as odd. He was just friendly, and plenty of the other kids were already chatting away, giving off an excited energy that he lacked. As he observed the more chatty kids, he noticed no one was meeting his eyes. Cleanly ignoring him, or averting their gaze upon meeting his eyes.

  Am I… ugly? When he’d gone over his face in the mirror before, he’d concluded that his new body was pretty average. He looked like most other kids in his village, save for his slightly brighter hair color. Pakin hadn’t considered it yet, but he was from a completely different place from the world he currently lived in. Maybe, in Lightning, he was considered an ugly kid.

  Are you kidding me? I got reincarnated into the uggo? He shook his head in dismay. Nah, there’s no way. Kechizu said I look like the first Raikage, so unless he was ugly too, there’s no way that I could be considered ugly. Pakin nodded to himself, satisfied with his logic. Until he wondered, Wait… was the first Raikage ugly?

  “Are you alright?”

  Before he could fall down that rabbit hole, a kid with long black hair and yellow eyes asked him a question and stared curiously at Pakin from the row of open stairs near him. Next to the androgynous-looking child was a girl who looked distinctly foreign. Her thin blue hair and layered, colorful clothes already set her apart. However, her skin was different from other pale-skinned people he’d met in lightning. Where they had more of a brownish undertone, hers was closer to pink.

  Pakin blinked as he took in the two strangers and answered, “Yeah, just thinking about some stuff. I’m Pakin, what’re your names?” Please, please, please sit with me. Pakin thought desperately as he waited for them to respond.

  The androgynous-looking one looked back at the girl behind themselves and shrugged. The two communicated silently for a while before the girl nodded reluctantly. So decided, Pakin tried to hide his sigh of relief as the two of them sat down at his desk.

  “I’m Kyo.” The kid said.

  Pakin nodded towards them and thought, Pronouns are really different in this language than in English. It’s hard to know if they’re using the feminine ‘I’ for politeness or because they identify as a girl.

  Shaking off his thoughts about confusing linguistic comparisons, he listened as the other child said, “My name is Suzume.”

  I wonder if she’s foreign. Many people in Lightning had simple names, with single characters or meanings. The tradition had waned in recent years, but most people still had simple names. Well, except in my village. That must be a traditional thing, though.

  He smiled politely and replied, “It’s nice to meet you, Kyo, Suzume. Are you excited to start learning?” That’s a normal question, right?

  Kyo nodded passively and said, “I am. There’s a frenetic energy to the start of the school year that I’ve missed.”

  Suzume nodded her head vigorously, stating, “It’s very exciting! I hope they teach us all those cool techniques shinobi use!” Her eyes sparkled with wonder as she recounted, “On the way here, my recruiter showed me a bunch of jutsu, and they were all just so cool! I can’t wait to start doing stuff like that!”

  Pakin smiled at her excitement, remembering the first day Gera had shown him that crazy wind-release jutsu. He’d been swallowed up by his training, but that excitement still boiled under the surface. So, he said, “I know, right? I got to do a bunch of training on the way here, so I know some taijutsu and bukijutsu basics. But, I’m really excited for the ninjutsu and chakra-based stuff! That all seems so cool.”

  Kyo and Suzume’s eyes both widened considerably at Pakin’s words. Before he could get a read on their astonishment, Suzume exclaimed, “You got training!? Like, from your recruiter shinobi?”

  Oh, was that supposed to be a secret? Pakin smiled sheepishly and tried to wave away his new companion’s excitement, “Yeah, Gera and I took a long time to get here. So, she trained me in some basic stuff before we got here. Nothing special, just how to punch and throw shuriken and stuff.”

  Suzume puffed up her cheeks in frustration and groaned. She said, “Jeeez! You and Kyo! It’s no fair, my recruiter didn’t train me. They just brought me here, then dropped me off at the motel!”

  Kyo looked at the girl and sighed, saying, “My recruiter didn’t take the time to train me either, Suzume, my family did.”

  Suzume huffed a final time before tapping her palm with the bottom of her fist and said, “I’ve got it. You both cheated and got to learn shinobi stuff before school even started. So, you can just teach me everything you learned, and I’ll be caught up.” She nodded self-satisfyingly, while Kyo shook their head from beside her.

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  Pakin chuckled and replied, “Okay, but you guys have to tell me something in return.”

  The other two turned to Pakin, and Suzume responded, “Okay, what do you want us to say?”

  “I actually need you to answer a question. Why does everyone keep avoiding eye contact with me? Is there something on my face?”

  If I want to make friends and do well here, I can’t have everyone avoiding me. Pakin looked expectantly at his two desk mates as they looked at each other briefly.

  Kyo shrugged, and Suzume responded, “Uhhhhmmm.” She fidgeted with her hands for a second before asking, “You’ll still help me even if I say something rude?”

  Damn it. There is something weird about me. Pakin sighed and shook his head, saying, “I’ll still help you. I’d rather know if it’s something bad. I don’t want everyone shunning me for the rest of the year.”

  Suzume shook her hands placatingly at Pakin and said, “I’m sorry! It’s not that bad! It’s just… you’re a bit… scary.” She poked her fingertips together and avoided Pakin’s eyes.

  Pakin felt his eyes scrunch together as he asked, “I’m scary? I don’t think I’m that scary.” Realization colored his face as he touched the scar on his face. Wait. Am I scary?

  Kyo shook their head this time and said, “The scar is definitely imposing, but at least for me, that’s not why.” They tilted their head slightly and stared at Pakin like they were trying to understand a painting. “You remind me of my recruiter.”

  Suzume nodded along and added, “Yeah! That’s it! You remind me of other shinobi I’ve met, too! Like the way you hold yourself and, like, your energy.”

  “My energy? You mean my chakra?” Pakin asked.

  Kyo looked over at Suzume with a surprised expression, “I didn’t know you could sense chakra.”

  Suzume smiled proudly and explained, “I managed to bother my recruiter into teaching me just a little.”

  Kyo chuckled lightly and supplied, “Yes, well, your chakra is controlled, like a shinobi’s, and most people have an intuitive sense for others’ chakra. It’s why some people get so nervous around shinobi.”

  People did act strangely whenever Gera and I were walking around the towns we visited. I just thought it was because of her outfit and general demeanor. She’s got a killer resting bitch face. Pakin scrunched his nose in thought, asking, “But, no one in Kumo has been weird about it. Also, no one treated me differently in the other villages. My control wasn’t always this good, but even towards the end of my training, no one seemed nervous.”

  Kyo shrugged and replied, “I’m not sure. Maybe you reached a certain level of control or mastery once you got here. Also, people here in Kumo are used to it. They’re surrounded by shinobi twenty-four seven. The other people in this room come from smaller villages.”

  “Huh, I guess you're right.” Pakin said.

  I did compress my chakra for the first time right before we left Ide. Maybe that’s when it usually starts? He shook his head, trying to clear the confusing thoughts from his mind. There would be a time for introspection and chakra theory later.

  “Okay. That makes sense.” Pakin shrugged his shoulders and said, “I just hope it doesn’t keep freaking people out. What made you guys ignore that ‘scariness’ and sit with me?” He made air quotes when saying the word.

  Kyo answered, “You seemed interesting. Also, there weren’t many seats left, and as ‘scary’ as you were,” They motioned with their head towards Kanae, “You seemed less intense than that one.”

  Pakin looked over at Kanae for the first time since the other children had entered the room. She was still alone, located in the center of her chosen desk. “Yeah, Kanae’s pretty intense. She got here at the same time as me, so we got to head here together.”

  Kanae turned slightly at the mention of her name, and Pakin waved at her. Don’t want her thinking I’m talking bad behind her back. She looked around for a moment before returning her gaze to Pakin. She stared at him momentarily before standing up and walking towards Pakin.

  People watched her as she walked up the stairs and stood at the end of the desk where Pakin and his new friends sat.

  Pakin’s friendly smile grew slightly strained as she stood there silently, as if waiting for someone else to say something.

  Jeez. Maybe she heard me say her name? He motioned towards Kyo and Suzume before saying to Kanae, “I was just telling Kyo and Suzume how we got here at the same time.”

  The two mentioned waved reluctantly at Kanae, and she nodded back at them, saying, “Hello.” Then, she turned back to Pakin and said, “We did not arrive at the same time. You got to the event before me. Then you returned to learn that shinobi’s name.” She finished speaking and turned around to return to her desk.

  Did that bother her? Was getting here first that important? Director Osako isn’t even here yet, so it can’t be that important. Pakin thought to himself as he watched the young girl walk away.

  Kyo and Suzume also followed her movement before turning to look at Pakin with the same puzzled expression.

  “I don't know.” He supplied, and they all shrugged collectively at the strange girl's behavior.

  They sat in companionable silence for a moment, and Pakin took in the rest of the room. There were kids chatting, laughing, and shouting around the entire room. At that moment, two memories collided with each other in his mind.

  Pakin began to panic, the sensation feeling familiar to the first he’d experienced when he arrived in his current body. However, there was no pain; instead, just a confusing jumble of imagery. Two classrooms blurred together with children speaking in two different languages. They were acting much like the kids here in the lecture hall, enjoying themselves without adult supervision.

  What the hell was that?

  Before Pakin could begin to process the strange internal phenomenon, a loud clap echoed throughout the room. All the children immediately silenced themselves, and Pakin looked down to see eleven people standing around the blackboard at the bottom of the hall.

  Two of the faces were familiar. One was Director Osako, and the other was the shinobi he’d met in the hall, Kohei. Director Osako smiled as she looked over the gathered students, her clasped hands indicating that she’d made that clapping noise earlier.

  How did she make it so loud? Pakin wondered idly as children realized the adults were here and scrambled to get in their seats.

  Director Osako waited patiently for all the children, and when all the butts were in seats, she addressed the entire room. “Hello, everyone. It’s my pleasure to welcome you all to the esteemed Academy for Shinobi and to our External Talent Polishing Program!”

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