𝙇𝘼𝙑𝙀𝙉𝘿𝙀𝙍. | 𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗨𝗧𝗢

II

RIKI stretched her arms out in front of her, the tensed muscles in her back relaxing at the motion. Her entire back was aching, and though it was probably due to her horrible posture, she couldn't find it in her not to blame her new Jonin sensei's tardiness as the reason for her pain. She'd been sat in a room, slumped in the hard wooden chairs of her classroom, alone with Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura for the past hour and a half, not counting the times she'd spent waiting with the other teams which had already left with their teachers.

Whoever her teacher was, they were tardy as hell, and it was getting on her nerves, and more importantly, her back. There went any hope that her teacher was any better than her teammates. She wasn't much of a teacher'a pet anyway.

The entire classroom had been surprisingly silent the entire time, with the members of Team Seven spaced out at the front of the classroom.

"He's late." Naruto stated as he peered his head out of the door, and looked into the empty academy halls. Sakura leaned on the edge table Riki was sat at, looking at Naruto. Now all of Team Seven were looking at him.

"Naruto, stay still."

"Why's it that only our squad's teacher is late?" Naruto removed himself from looking out of the classroom, leaving the door open. "The other squads have gone off somewhere with their new teachers, and Iruka sensei's also left!"

"Don't look at me, I don't know either," Sakura shrugged, looking away from the blond.

The silence had not yet been revived as Naruto shuffled across the room, his other team members looking away with disinterest. Until Sakura spoke again, her voice laced with concern. "What're you doing, Naruto?!"

Both Riki and Sasuke looked up at the door simultaneously, facing the sight of Naruto, standing on Iruka's stall as he placed an eraser between the gap of the classroom door.

What an odd boy. Riki furrowed her eyebrows in confused upon seeing Naruto's grin as he stepped down from the stall and dragged it back to the other side of the classroom. It was like Naruto wanted their teacher to dislike them. Not that she was a fan of their mystery teacher considering their tardiness, of course.

"Hey! Naruto, don't!" Sakura piped up, trying to be the voice of reason.

"It'll be his fault because he's late!"

"You shouldn't be doing things like that, it's childish," Sakura replied, her lips curving into a frown. It seemed like she too didn't want their teacher to dislike her.

Sasuke spoke up from the table beside Riki, his voice a demeaning. "A jonin wouldn't get caught in such a weak booby trap."

"That's right! Naruto, you should stop."

Just as Sakura finished off her sentence, a hand reached in through the crack of the door. A tall man stepped in the door, and as he did so, the chalkboard eraser landed on his hair.

Naruto laughed boisterously. "I got him, I got him!"

No one really laughed with him, the room filling with an awkward tension that not even Naruto's giggles could break through.

"I'm so, so sorry sir," Sakura told the man, and glared at Naruto. "I tried to stop him, but Naruto did it on his own . . ."

The man went and picked up the eraser off the floor, and brought his other hand to his covered chin in thought. "How do I say this? As for my first impression of you guys? Well, I hate you."

That wasn't totally unexpected.

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"Let me see . . ."