Tamamo and Sasuke stepped into the Academy classroom side by side, both scanning the chaos like shinobi sent to secure a very loud hostage situation.
Kids were already shouting over each other, bouncing off desks, forming premature rivalries, and staking territory like wild animals. One girl was loudly reciting her clan history. Another was crying because someone stole her seat.
Tamamo sighed. "So this is it. The future of the Leaf."
"I want a refund," Sasuke muttered.
Before Tamamo could respond, a voice from across the room rang out—loud, bright, and full of unearned confidence:
"Hey! I know you!"
The classroom stilled.
Dozens of kids turned in unison, the chaos collapsing into silence like someone had cut the audio. Even the kid mid-cartwheel skidded to a stop. All eyes locked on the boy standing on a bench like he was making a declaration of war.
Naruto Uzumaki.
His jacket hung open, his grin stretched wide, and his hair looked freshly electrocuted.
"You're that girl from Ichiraku!"
Tamamo turned, calm as ever.
And the rest of the room? They stared like she'd just been marked for death.
The glares came instantly—hard, sharp, and way too dramatic for a boy who just yelled across the room. Side-eyes flared like warning signals. A few kids even scooted away from her, subtle but practiced.
They'd all been told the same thing: stay away from Naruto Uzumaki. Whispers passed around like scripture—he was loud, cursed, trouble. Some swore weird things happened around him.
Others just didn't want to be seen near him.
Tamamo smirked.
"Whiskers," she said with zero hesitation. "We meet again."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You two know each other?"
Tamamo didn't even look his way.
"We shared a bowl of noodles."
That got an audible gasp from somewhere near the front. One girl whispered, horrified, "She touched his food?"
Tamamo tilted her head, taking in the judgment like it was background noise.
Before any more questions could be asked, the classroom door slid open with a sharp clack.
Iruka entered, clipboard in hand, instantly restoring a sense of order—or at least threatening to.
"Everyone to your assigned seats! Three per bench. No swaps."
The room shifted as students scrambled to obey.
"Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka—front row, right side."
"Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga—middle section, left."
Iruka looked up, scanning the crowd.
"Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno—center row, front bench."
Sasuke blinked. "Seriously?"
Naruto pumped his fist. "Yes! We're teammates already!"
Tamamo turned to Sasuke, blank-faced. "Try not to catch anything."
Then—
"Tamamo Uchiha," Iruka said, consulting his list, "back row, far end. Between Reina and Miwa."
Tamamo blinked. "What?"
She scanned the room—then saw it.
The exile zone.
The furthest bench in the entire classroom. Far from any familiar face. Flanked on either side by two girls already whispering to each other and pointing excitedly in her direction.
She sighed like a soldier going to war.
Tamamo sat at the far back of the classroom like she'd been sentenced to exile by fate itself.
Her new kingdom? A wooden bench wedged between two civilian girls who looked like they'd consumed an entire tea kettle's worth of sugar before class. They smiled at her—bright, unblinking. Friendly. Too friendly.
"You're from a clan, right?" the girl on her left whispered loudly. "What's it like having a crest? Do you get, like, secret scrolls or something?"
Tamamo blinked. "…No."
"But you must know jutsu already, right?" said the girl on the right, inching closer. "Like—fireballs? clones? Maybe both?"
Tamamo didn't blink. "I still need help opening pickle jars."
The girl on the left let out a dreamy sigh. "That sounds like advanced taijutsu…"
Tamamo inhaled slowly. Focus. Breathe. This was fine. This was survivable.
"So, do all Uchiha wear their hair like that?" the right girl continued. "Do you all train with katanas at dawn? What do you eat? Is it all spicy? Can you talk to crows?"
Tamamo turned her head in increments, like a horror movie puppet. "Why would I talk to crows?"
"I dunno," she giggled. "Just seems… Uchiha-ish?"
—
At one of the training grounds, both Shisui and Itachi sneezed.
Their crows fluttered nervously.
Shisui rubbed his nose. "Tamamo's definitely talking about us."
Itachi gave a solemn nod. "Prepare for blackmail."
One of the crows cawed in dread.
—
"Uchiha-ish isn't a word."
"I think it should be."
Tamamo looked straight ahead, blinking very slowly, as if she were rebooting. In her mind, she pictured herself standing under a waterfall. Peaceful. Centered. Untouchable.
Then the left girl whispered, "So do you think you'll marry a Hyūga… or perhaps someone from the Inuzuka clan?"
The waterfall turned into a tsunami.
Tamamo's eye twitched. Her Sharingan clicked on, glowing faintly.
Both girls gasped and flinched back like startled birds.
Tamamo didn't even look at them. She whispered one word:
"Silence."
It wasn't a threat. It wasn't even loud. It was a request delivered like a divine decree.
Tamamo sighed, leaned back against the bench, and folded her arms. It wasn't even lunchtime yet, and she was already mentally drafting her resignation letter.
And just when Tamamo thought she might achieve spiritual detachment from the mortal world, Iruka clapped his hands once.
"Alright, class. Time for introductions."
Tamamo sat up straighter. Her time to shine.
Iruka smiled at the room. "One at a time. Stand up, say your name, and something about yourself. Keep it short, please."
The keyword "short" was immediately ignored.
Kids jumped at the chance to brag.
One declared himself the heir to a long line of beetle tamers.
Another claimed she could already make a clone, though no one saw it.
One girl, Sakura Haruno, spent a full minute talking about her academic goals, her favorite books, and her favorite color (green, but only pastel).
Sasuke's turn was brief. He stood up, said "Sasuke Uchiha," and sat back down.
That was it.
A noticeable wave of sighs swept through the room the moment Sasuke sat down.
The two beside Tamamo were collapsing—one fanning herself with a textbook, the other visibly rewriting her future to include the Uchiha surname.
Tamamo covered her mouth with her sleeve, unsure if she was suppressing a yawn or the urge to vomit.
Tamamo stared at Sasuke's back like a scientist watching a lab rat head straight for an electric fence.
"Well, well, well… look who's a heartthrob," she muttered to herself. "So young. So doomed."
Sasuke turned, catching her eye.
She didn't tease. She didn't gloat.
She just gave him a slow, pitying look—like someone silently mouthing "run."
Sasuke blinked, a vague chill crawling down his spine.
He didn't know why.
He didn't know when.
But somewhere out there, a fan club had already formed—and all he'd done was say his name.
Iruka blinked. "…Thank you, Sasuke."
And then—
"Tamamo Uchiha?"
She stood.
Straightened her shoulders.
Took a breath.
And declared, loud and clear:
"Tamamo Uchiha—twin of Sasuke, heir to no throne, and the ambassador of chicken nuggets."
The classroom paused.
Even Iruka paused.
Tamamo forged on.
"I enjoy avoiding responsibility, haunting my cousin, and making people uncomfortable with extended eye contact."
She turned slowly—locking eyes with the girls on either side of her bench. They immediately sat straighter.
"I've mastered one fire jutsu, one eyebrow raise, and at least six ways to get out of chores."
Naruto gave an impressed "whoa."
Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tamamo—"
"I'm also a firm believer that discipline begins at breakfast and that my reflection can't be trusted."
Now Iruka sighed. "Thank you, Tamamo. That's enough."
Tamamo gave a polite bow and sat back down like she hadn't just declared war on normalcy.
The class applauded.
Sasuke smirked. Impressed.
"Next—Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto shot to his feet, nearly knocking over his bench.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen, and I'm gonna be Hokage!"
He beamed, fists on his hips like he was already wearing the hat.
Silence.
Someone coughed. A chair creaked. A pencil rolled off a desk.
Tamamo chuckled. 'Nice, Whiskers.'
Sasuke exhaled through his nose.
Iruka gave a polite nod. "Thank you, Naruto. You may sit."
Naruto sat, still grinning.
This year was going to be something.