SS002

With Iruka instructing him and Shikamaru to raise their heads, Seikun used the introductions of the first sixteen students to draft a plan in his mind. In his first loop, he thought he might be able to prevent the Uchiha Clan Massacre and significant events, but since he didn't know precisely when they took place, he was constantly caught off guard. Now, he had the freedom and foreknowledge to choose how he approached things...

'But if I do decide to do something about the massacre, there will be that many more variables to consider. Not to mention the possibility of a civil war occurring...' thought Seikun, sitting with his head and cheek propped up by his right hand. The only reason he could think to intervene was to prevent Sasuke from becoming a rogue ninja, but if the Uchiha managed to endure until the onset of the Fourth Ninja World War, it wasn't difficult to imagine them siding with Madara...

As Seikun was thinking about his future, Sasuke, seated next to Sakura in seat number fifteen, was called to the front to introduce himself. Similar to Seikun's previous loop, the raven-haired Uchiha was nervous but put on a brave front, earning him considerable brownie points with the girls in their class. As for his dream, Seikun had to resist the urge to roll his eyes when Sasuke claimed he wanted to be a great Ninja like his brother, father, and the other respectable members of his clan...

"What a tool..." remarked the boy seated in seat number twenty-four, right behind Sasuke's. Seikun didn't have to look over to know who had spoken, but since Hinata turned, his eyes were drawn to her movement. For a brief moment, his gaze lingered on her ear and the fair flesh of her neck, but as he was far more interested in her future form and figure, he quickly looked past her to a boy with short and spiky brown hair with burgundy, fang-like markings on his cheeks.

Seeing several people look his way, the spiky-haired boy, Inuzuka Kiba, visibly tensed. Sasuke had yet to earn any die-hard admirers or fangirls, but his looks, especially in comparison to Kiba's wild, animalistic features, ensured virtually every girl in the class sided with him.

"Hyuga Hinata. Please come forward," said Iruku. His stern gaze was also fixed on Kiba, but as it was the first day, he decided to give the young heir a bit of slack.

"Yes, Mr. Umino...!" responded Hinata, her voice much louder than usual as she was startled by the sudden address. Fortunately, no one laughed as the name Hyuga carried considerable weight as the most ancient and noblest of the village's four noble clans.

'This really takes me back...' thought Seikun, unable to prevent a smile from developing across his face as he followed Hinata's descent to the front of the room with his eyes. She was so tiny compared to her future self, but whether it was because he was seeing the world through rose-tinted lenses or some other factor, she was easily the cutest girl in class. Sakura, Ino, and a girl named Midori weren't too far behind, but as they either had or were fated to develop personality disorders, Seikun found it difficult to harbor positive sentiments toward them...

Once Hinata was finished nervously telling everyone not to worry about her status and that she hoped they could each be friends, it was time for Seikun's introduction. Many in the class had already categorized him as a slacker based on his behavior, but Seikun didn't particularly mind as, after graduation, he might not even recognize most of them in passing.

"Good luck..." whispered Hinata, catching Seikun off guard as they passed each other in the aisle between desks. She had wished him luck in his first loop, but that was presumably because he had encouraged her before her own. Having her do so largely unprompted felt...weird...

Stopping front and center in the classroom, Seikun turned around, raised his gaze, and tensed. They may have been children, but having the gazes of so many people on him felt unnerving. He got the impression they were waiting to judge him, but since that's just how people, in general, were, he recovered nigh-instantaneously and said, "My name is Takahashi Seikun," in a calm voice.

Since Iruka had encouraged them to reveal their hobbies, likes, dislikes, and dreams, Seikun passed his gaze over each person in the class as he casually revealed, "Like many others, I was orphaned in the attack of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. There are many things I like and dislike. As for my hobbies and dreams...I enjoy things like clay modeling and hope to open a clinic specializing in massage therapy once I repay the village for its care these past few years..."

"Well done, Seikun. Now, please return to your seat," said Iruka, sporting a melancholic but supportive smile. He had also been orphaned as a result of the Nine-Tails' attack, so he greatly empathized with Seikun's situation and his desire to repay the village.

Turning his head to meet Iruka's gaze, Seikun gave a subtle, affirming nod before returning to his seat. There, he found Hinata with a sad expression, her eyes glistening with moisture as she whispered, "I'm sorry to hear you lost your parents, Seikun...I also lost my mother a few years ago..."

"Then let's do our best to live for them..." responded Seikun while taking his seat. Then, this time without Iruka chastising him, he placed his arms atop his desk and put his head down. He could feel Hinata's gaze on him, but since the next student was about to do his introduction, she muttered a faint, "I hope you're able to rest..." before falling silent for the remainder of homeroom...

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Since the first day at the Academy was dedicated to getting new students to introduce themselves, familiarizing them with the concepts they would be learning over the next fours, and getting them used to the facilities, the first half of the day passed slowly but uneventfully. After that came lunch, provided by the Academy at no cost to the students.

After grabbing a cafeteria tray and piling it with nearly twice the food he would have in his previous loop, Seikun, still lost in his thoughts, sat alone at the table closest to the trash cans and bussing station. Most tended to avoid the area due to the foul-smelling aroma lingering in the air, but that didn't seem to bother the doll-like figure who sat across from him.

Raising both his gaze and eyebrows, Seikun remarked, "It may be our first day at the Academy, but you'll have trouble mingling with the other girls if you join them late."

Adopting a faint smile, the girl, Hinata, responded, "I saw you sitting alone and thought you could use the company. But if you're willing to move over and sit with the other boys, I'll move to the girls' table."

'This is the version of Hinata created by my desires...?' wondered Seikun, adopting a slightly awkward smile of his own. He would be lying if he said he didn't appreciate the attention, but it made him feel somewhat pathetic to receive the care and attention of someone he originally felt needed his support...

Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Seikun decided to go full nuclear by adopting a more confident smile and asking, "Hinata, would you like to be my girlfriend...?" He figured that if he were forward and she refused him, it would prevent her from approaching him so brazenly in the future. On the other hand, if she agreed, that would forever make him her first boyfriend. At least within the dreamscape of the Infinite Tsukuyomi...

Not expecting Seikun's questions, Hinata's faded amethyst eyes opened to their utmost limit. She had approached him because she wanted to be his friend and partly because she felt sorry for him. The thought of dating anyone had never crossed her mind, so she felt dizzy and a little flustered hearing him ask her to be his girlfriend so abruptly...

"I'll take that as a no..." muttered Seikun, exhaling an amused chuckle at the sight of Hinata blushing to the tips of her ears. He could even discern a faint, illusory steam rising from her head, causing him to wonder if it was a quirk of the Infinite Tsukuyomi drawing inspiration from his memories of the anime.

Startling slightly and regaining her senses in response to Seikun's laugh, Hinata stared at him blankly for a few moments before cutely puffing out her cheeks and asserting, "You're a bad boy, Seikun...you shouldn't tease other people or make jokes like that..."

"It wasn't a joke..." countered Seikun, shrugging. Hinata's eyes widened a second time, but before she could say anything, Seikun picked up his tray and added, "Let's go with what you said previously. I don't want to be the reason you're excluded from the girls' group..."

"Oh...uh...okay..." responded Hinata, absent her earlier confidence as she picked up her tray and followed behind Seikun with the upper half of her face concealed by her bangs. She looked up when their paths invariably diverged, but Seikun failed to notice as he was focused on the table with Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and several others. If he had, he would have seen the faint outline of veins bulging around Hinata's eyes as she gazed at him with a sulky, ill-tempered expression...

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Though Kiba attempted to tease him for sitting alone with a girl, Seikun let the youth's words pass into one ear and out the other. From his memories, he knew they would begin practice sparring the ensuing day. Members of the Inuzuka clan inherently respected those more powerful than them, so if he wanted to shut Kiba's mouth, the best method was to beat the young Inuzuku in a fight.

With such thoughts in his mind, Seikun passed the remainder of his first day at the Academy in a trance. He was intimately familiar with the first-year curriculum after being forced to repeat the year, so he spent much of the afternoon drawing what appeared to people in the world of Naruto as borderline photo-quality sketches. He had made a living drawing realistic anime-style illustrations in his first incarnation, so when he was thrust into a world where that was the norm, he suddenly became a photorealist.

Though they did their best to pay attention, both Hinata and the boy on the opposite side of Seikun couldn't help sneaking awe-filled glances at his casual sketches. Seikun noticed this, obviously, so the last image he worked on for the day was Hinata's future self. But as he had the person in question seated next to him, he tried to be more conservative with her proportions, keeping them in line with what he remembered from Boruto.

"Is that me...?" asked Hinata, waiting until the bell to release them had rung, freeing them to leave the classroom and return home. Hinata was supposed to hurry and meet her father, but she couldn't help but linger to satisfy her curiosity.

"It's how I imagine you to be in the future..." responded Seikun, making a few finishing touches to the portrait's face and eyes. He didn't have time for a full body image, so it was mainly just Hinata's face, shoulders, upper arms, and torso. In other words, he drew her future self's bust minus the actual bust.

"I'm nowhere near that beautiful..." muttered Hinata.

"But you will be," retorted Seikun, his voice firm and full of confidence as he slipped the portrait to Hinata's side of the desk, adding, "If you don't believe me, post it up on your mirror and watch yourself grow into day by day. Then you'll understand why I asked you what I did during lunch..."

Feeling he had done more than enough to leave a positive impression on the young Hyuga, Seikun rose from his seat and slipped past her to get to the aisle. Unfortunately, in her efforts to be polite, Hinata rose with a start and tried to move out of his way. Instead, the back of her head hit his ass, causing him to fall forward but catch himself on the desk behind him. This garnered considerable attention from those loitering within the classroom, but their embarrassment was worsened exponentially when Naruto, of all people, pointed to them, made a crude remark, and provoked everyone to laugh at their expense...

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