Looking at those big, blinking eyes, Aoba also waved his hand at her.
That counted as a greeting.
When Hanabi saw Aoba waving to her, her eyes lit up. She immediately opened the window, wanting to jump straight out to skip class.
But Aoba stopped her right away with a stern look.
Hanabi stuck out her tongue at him, made a funny face, then looked away.
Still, she made sure to remember the face of the girl beside him, the one she was seeing for the first time.
"That girl's so cute. Aoba, do you know her?", Their little exchange naturally fell within Fu's sight.
Aoba nodded, "Her name's Hyuga Hanabi. She's my student."
"You already have a student at your age?"
Fu was quite surprised. After all, Aoba looked to be only in his teens.
"Yeah. Actually, I've got two."
Aoba smiled, "Come on, I'll take you to the office to meet my teacher."
"Oh, okay."
Fu didn't ask further and just followed behind him, glancing curiously around as they walked.
They wound through the school building, turning corners left and right, and finally found Iruka's office just as the bell rang for the end of class.
Thanks to abundant funding, the Ninja Academy had been expanded this year, adding several new buildings.
As soon as Aoba entered the office, he saw Iruka sitting at his desk, reviewing his lesson plans.
"Iruka-sensei," Aoba greeted him politely.
"Aoba?"
When Iruka saw him, he froze for a moment, then stood up with a pleased smile.
"It's been ages! What brings you here today?"
The boy before him was the most outstanding student he'd ever taught. Though honestly, Iruka had benefitted more from that connection than Aoba had from him.
"There's something I'd like to ask for your help with, Iruka-sensei."
Aoba said this with a smile.
Iruka noticed the girl beside him, wide-eyed, looking around curiously, and instantly understood.
"You want me to arrange her enrollment?"
Aoba nodded, "Her name's Fu. She's twelve, the right age for the graduating class. Just put her in as a transfer student. But her personal information needs to stay confidential."
"No problem."
Iruka didn't ask anything more. He began flipping through the class records.
All he needed to do was add her name to the list.
Aoba was a trusted representative of the Hokage. His identity and abilities were beyond doubt.
"Then I'll just put her in my class. The students are probably still inside since the bell just rang. Want me to take her over to meet them now?"
"Thanks, Iruka-sensei."
Aoba turned to Fu, "I'll come pick you up after school. If I'm late, just wait for me at the front gate, okay?"
"Mm!", Fu nodded eagerly, clearly impatient to meet her new classmates.
———
After leaving the office, Aoba didn't leave the Academy right away.
He kept looking around the school.
At this time of day, Anko should also be in her office.
She'd only recently started teaching, assigned to one of the lower-year classrooms.
When Aoba finally found her, "Anko" was sitting at her desk, scolding two children whose faces were bruised and swollen. Clearly, they'd been fighting.
The faint autumn sunlight spilled across the doorway, soft and unfocused. Aoba stood there watching.
He'd only come on a whim, but didn't expect to stumble upon such a scene.
His expression carried a hint of amusement.
"Anko" happened to glance his way.
After a brief moment of surprise, she quickly looked away, flustered.
The reason for that reaction was simple, this "Anko" wasn't Anko at all.
Aoba had traced her chakra to find her, so he'd known from the start that she was a fake.
That was why he simply found it funny. He walked right in and took a seat.
"Anko" felt a little embarrassed. After finishing her scolding, she hurriedly dismissed the two kids.
"Anko-nee, you looked really intimidating just now," Aoba teased her with a grin.
"Anko's" face flushed slightly, and she gave him a playful glare, "Aoba, what are you doing at the Academy all of a sudden?"
"Can't I come just because I missed Anko-nee?"
Aoba continued to tease.
"Anko" didn't reply, but her slightly pouting lips showed she was a bit annoyed.
Aoba reached over and took her hand, "Do you have class this afternoon?"
"Anko's" cheeks turned redder, "No."
Aoba's mood brightened even more, because the real Anko would never show an expression like that.
The contrast was delightful.
"Then let's go back together?"
"Mm…"
———
"Anko-nee, you—"
As they walked down the street, Aoba started to tease her again, but the girl beside him lightly punched his shoulder.
If this were the real Anko, she definitely wouldn't be that gentle.
"Anko" pouted unhappily, "Aoba, you must've realized long ago that I'm not my sister, right?"
Aoba chuckled, leaned in close, and whispered by her ear, "I could tell you were enjoying yourself. Or… would you rather I call you—"
"Isaribi-nee?"
At that, Isaribi's body trembled slightly, her expression almost collapsing, her Transformation Jutsu nearly failed on the spot.
Honestly, Aoba was quite curious. Why was Isaribi's taste so peculiar? Just calling her "nee" seemed to be enough to make her lose it.
The first time they'd met, he'd called her that just on a whim. After all, she really was older than him.
But he hadn't expected that simply being called "nee" would make her so excited she nearly fainted.
Isaribi slowly calmed down again, clutching the fabric of his clothes, her face burning red, "B-Back at home…"
"Sure. I'll call you that when we're back."
Aoba stopped teasing her and instead asked, "Isaribi, why did you disguise yourself as Anko-nee today to teach her class?"
"Kurenai-nee came to drink sister me last night. They drank too much and she couldn't get up this morning. She didn't call in sick, so I had to fill in for her," Isaribi explained.
"Why did Kurenai-nee suddenly go drinking with her, and to the point she couldn't get out of bed?", Aoba asked curiously.
Kurenai liked to drink, sure, but these days she usually just had a few sips. It was rare for her to get so drunk she couldn't wake up the next day.
Isaribi blinked, "You really want to know?"
Aoba looked puzzled, "Can't I?"
Isaribi clasped her hands behind her back, skipping along as she walked. Even with Anko's face, her movements had a girlish liveliness that the real Anko lacked.
"I overheard them talking. Apparently, that older man who's been chasing Kurenai-nee finally confessed to her yesterday. She turned him down, but she was really upset afterward, so she came to drink with my sister."
"Why was she upset?"
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