Chương 13

Rei engaged normally at first. Basic taijutsu exchanges. Controlled speed. No unnecessary displays. Shino defended methodically while constantly creating distance. He probably didn't have enough control over his insects to be used in fights, or whatever. Rei was just glad that Shino didn't use insects. Soon Rei started panting and Shino slowly started gaining ground against Rei. He acted enough to look convincing.

The fight dragged for several more minutes afterward before Rei deliberately made a mistake during a close exchange and got hit right at the face. He stumbled backward slightly afterward. Then stopped moving.

"… Winner," Iruka announced after a moment, "Shino Aburame." The class reacted normally enough. Some applause while some just continued staring at Sasuke. These girls were way too obsessed for their age. Meanwhile Shino studied Rei quietly for a few extra seconds before walking away. Rei disliked that look. Because it felt slightly too analytical. Still, the loss itself served its purpose. Another reminder publicly that Rei wasn't some untouchable genius in combat.

Which made the next sparring match much easier to handle. Because a few days later, Rei ended up fighting Choji Akimichi. Now this matchup? Much simpler. Choji was physically stronger than most Academy students already, but he lacked speed and confidence. Rei didn't need to intentionally hold back nearly as much here. The moment the match began, Choji charged forward awkwardly while trying to overpower Rei directly. Rei sidestepped smoothly. He had been learning a lot from his dad.

Then countered immediately with a clean sweep kick that disrupted Choji's balance. Not enough to hurt him seriously. Just enough to create openings repeatedly. Unlike the Shino match, this one ended quickly. Rei controlled distance efficiently, avoided direct power clashes and gradually forced Choji completely off balance before finally landing a decisive strike that knocked him onto his back.

"…Winner. Rei Amagi." The reaction this time was noticeably louder. Mostly because Rei rarely won this cleanly publicly. Naruto immediately exploded from the sidelines.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

"…You say that after every fight." Rei replied tiredly afterward while helping Choji back up.

"Because fights ARE awesome!" Naruto defended himself proudly. Choji meanwhile rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"…You move really fast…"

"…You hit really hard." Rei replied honestly.

"So I avoided getting hit." Choji accepted that logic surprisingly easily. Mostly because he was already distracted by snacks again. Because Rei had promised him to get some chips for him later. Attack where the heart is. Meanwhile from nearby, Shino quietly observed Rei once more. And internally, Rei could already tell. Out of everyone in class… Shino was probably the one most likely to eventually realize that Rei deliberately hid parts of his real abilities. Which was deeply unfortunate.

Still, the Academy day eventually came to an end and one by one the students slowly started leaving the training grounds. Naruto was still loudly reenacting Rei's fight with Choji while somehow making himself the winner midway through the retelling. Normal children were strange creatures. Still, while Rei internally questioned humanity once again, he suddenly remembered something important. Today was his birthday, unfortunately. Not unfortunate because birthdays were bad exactly. Just… exhausting.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Because his parents took them very seriously. Far too seriously. And sure enough, the moment Rei returned home later that evening, the house already looked suspicious.

"…Oh no." Rei muttered immediately. The front door opened before he could mentally prepare himself.

"REI'S HOME!" Daichi loudly announced like a war messenger returning from battle.

"…Dad please stop yelling."

"No." That alone already confirmed Rei's worst fears. Birthday party. Inside the house, decorations were already hanging around the walls while Hana arranged food on the table with frightening efficiency.

"…Mom." Rei looked genuinely tired already.

"You didn't need to do all this." Hana didn't even look up.

"Too late."

"…This is excessive."

"It's your birthday."

"…I am aware." Daichi immediately appeared beside him and aggressively wrapped one arm around Rei's shoulders.

"Today is a historic occasion."

"…I turned nine."

"Exactly."

"That is not historically significant."

"It is to us." Hana replied quietly this time. Hearing that made complaining feel slightly harder afterward. Slightly. Still, Rei remained convinced children birthday parties were fundamentally childish. Unfortunately… he was also literally a child. A deeply annoying contradiction. Not long afterward, people slowly started arriving. First came Choji Akimichi and Shikamaru Nara together. Or more accurately, Shikamaru looked like he had been spiritually dragged there by Choji.

"… Troublesome." Shikamaru sighed upon entering. Hana had come with food for Choji. These two were the few ones who would show up to his home quite often. Choji loved the food that Hana made. And Rei himself would sometimes cook things up. Rei came from a different culture and though he loved the food here, sometimes he couldn't stop himself from trying to make the food from his previous life.

Food like pancake, French toast were some of the favorites of Choji and thus he loved showing up at his home from time to time. Then came Kiba Inuzuka who immediately challenged Rei to a race before even properly entering the house.

"…No." Rei replied instantly.

"Hah?! Why not?!"

"Because I enjoy living peacefully."

"You're weird."

"I hear that often." Later Shino and Ino showed up too. Ino was angry because Shikamaru had promised to come to pick her up but he had skipped the entire part. Shikamaru now was searching for a place to hide because he didn't want to bother listening to this girl's yapping. Children were terrifying. Still… despite all the noise and chaos filling the house now, one particular arrival genuinely surprised Rei. A loud familiar voice echoed outside first.

"REI! I BROUGHT SOMEBODY IMPORTANT!" Rei blinked once. Then the door opened. And standing there was Naruto Uzumaki looking absurdly excited beside none other than Hiruzen Sarutobi himself. Silence filled the room for about two seconds. Then Daichi immediately nearly ascended spiritually.

"L-LORD HOKAGE?!" Hana herself looked visibly startled before quickly bowing respectfully. Meanwhile Naruto proudly puffed his chest out like he personally escorted royalty into enemy territory.

"The old man wanted to come too!" Naruto announced proudly.

"I told him your party was gonna be awesome!" Hiruzen chuckled softly while removing his pipe for a moment.

"I hope I am not intruding."

"No!" Daichi answered far too quickly.

"Absolutely not! Please come inside!" Rei had rarely seen his father look this simultaneously nervous and proud before. Because yes, the Hokage showing up to your child's birthday was objectively insane for a random chunin family. But at the same time… Naruto stood there beside him looking unbelievably happy. And somehow that made the entire thing feel strangely natural too. Naruto immediately ran inside afterward while loudly inspecting the food table like an excited squirrel discovering civilization.

"WOAH! THERE'S SO MUCH FOOD!"

"That's because normal people prepare food for guests." Rei replied dry, trying hard not to show any irregularities to the man here. Naruto ignored him completely. Meanwhile Hiruzen quietly observed the room for a moment. The children laughing. The noise. The complete lack of discomfort around Naruto's presence inside the household. Something about that seemed to genuinely soften the old man's tired expression slightly. Because Naruto himself looked different here too.

"…You've raised a good child," Hiruzen quietly told Daichi and Hana afterward. That immediately made both parents look absurdly proud. Meanwhile Rei internally wanted to disappear into another dimension from secondhand embarrassment. Unfortunately, Naruto made that impossible by immediately throwing one arm around Rei afterward.

"OF COURSE HE'S GREAT!" Naruto declared proudly.

"He's my best friend!" Hearing Naruto say that so casually somehow made the room quieter for a brief moment. Even Rei himself paused slightly afterward. Because Naruto said it with complete certainty. Rei realized he didn't actually dislike hearing that. The party went on for like an hour or so and the children enjoyed themselves. Though Rei was annoyed of this impromptu party, he didn't hate it at the end.

One of the reason he was aligning himself to the famous students of the class was because he didn't want to be without a sensei by the end. He knew that the process of a sensei and three students was the norm here, and he was the odd one out, thus, after graduation there might someone who would/might be kicked out and he didn't want to be the one on the kickout list. He would be fine with any sensei. Meanwhile after the children had their fun, they left and the Hokage too left with Naruto.

He was genuinely happy that Naruto had found his friend and wasn't isolated. He felt like he didn't fail Minato by a huge margin now. After they left, Rei helped his parents in cleaning the place up and his parents looked beyond happy thinking of the successful party.

"I had invited the Hyuga child too, but she was a bit sick today so they declined." Daichi said. Rei hadn't seen Hinata for the past couple of days, so she might genuinely down with some kind of fever. It didn't matter, his parents were happy and that was what mattered.