The Academy classroom was loud—the kind of loud that lived between wooden floors and old chalkboards, bouncing around like hyperactive spirits.
Naruto burst in first.
"GOOD MORNING, FUTURE HOKAGE HERE—MOVE IT, LOSERS!"
Kids groaned. Someone threw an eraser. Iruka wasn't even in the room yet.
Ethan stepped in more quietly, taking his usual seat in the middle row: close enough to watch Naruto, far enough not to become an instant target for shenanigans.
He'd barely sat down before he felt it.
A pressure.
Not chakra exactly—more like someone staring a hole into the side of his head.
He turned.
Uchiha Sasuke was watching him.
Dark eyes, cool expression, posture perfect.
He wasn't glaring. Just… examining. Calculating.
Naruto noticed and immediately bristled.
"What're you looking at him for, huh?!"
Sasuke didn't look away.
Didn't blink.
"What's his deal?" Sasuke asked flatly.
Naruto sputtered. "HEY! Ethan's—he's—uh—HE'S COOL, THAT'S WHAT!"
A few kids snickered.
Sasuke finally shifted his gaze to Naruto with the faintest raise of a brow. "You're loud this morning."
"I'M ALWAYS LOUD!"
"Exactly."
Naruto fumed like a teakettle. Ethan sighed internally.
Well, he thought, so much for easing into this.
Sasuke leaned back, crossing his arms.
"You," he said to Ethan. "You handled Daichi yesterday."
Ethan blinked.
Ah. News traveled fast here.
"It wasn't a fight," Ethan said calmly. "Just a correction."
Sasuke's eyes sharpened.
"That's not how Iruka-sensei described it."
Ethan fought not to smile.
Iruka must've told the Uchiha prodigy to "set a good example" or something similar. Sasuke always got the special teacher warnings.
Naruto suddenly shoved himself between them. "HEY! What's that supposed to mean?!"
Sasuke ignored him.
Still staring Ethan down.
"You moved like you've trained. But you're not from any clan. You don't have clan posture."
Ethan kept his expression neutral.
"Maybe I practice alone."
Sasuke hummed, unconvinced. "Maybe."
A long, heavy silence followed.
Kids around them whispered.
"Are they gonna fight?"
"No way—Sasuke always wins."
"But Ethan's weirdly strong—maybe he'll—"
"No! Sasuke's the best!"
Naruto puffed up like a blowfish. "Ethan could TOTALLY take—!"
Ethan covered Naruto's mouth with one hand.
"Don't start."
Naruto mumbled into his palm, offended but obedient.
Sasuke's gaze lowered to the gesture.
Ethan's calmness.
Naruto's immediate reaction.
The dynamic between them.
A flicker of something passed behind Sasuke's eyes—curiosity, calculation, maybe even mild annoyance.
"You're close with him," Sasuke said.
Ethan answered simply: "Yes."
Naruto finally managed to yank Ethan's hand off. "OF COURSE HE IS! He's my first friend!"
A beat of silence.
Sasuke's expression tightened—barely—but enough.
Ethan saw it.
The sting.
The reminder.
Naruto had once said the same thing… about Sasuke.
Before grief hardened the air between them.
Before rivalry built its walls.
Sasuke collected himself fast, mask sliding back into place.
"Whatever," he muttered, looking toward the window. "It doesn't matter."
But it absolutely did.
The Panel flickered at the edge of Ethan's awareness.
---
PANEL MICRO-UPDATE — SOCIAL TRAJECTORY SHIFT
Event: First stable observation exchange between Ethan and Uchiha Sasuke
Outcome:
• Sasuke curiosity level: +3
• Rivalry projection: emerging (low)
• Naruto jealousy index: +2
• Narrative deviation risk: moderate
Recommendation:
Maintain balance.
Do not deepen the gap between Naruto and Sasuke.
Encourage parallel growth.
---
Ethan exhaled quietly.
Great. Another tightrope.
Naruto leaned closer. "Ethan… you okay?"
"Fine."
Sasuke glanced over at Ethan one last time, as if trying to read something hidden in his expression.
Then—
Iruka walked in with a stack of papers and the morning's exhaustion clinging to his shoulders.
"Alright everyone, SIT DOWN! Today we're working on chakra rotation awareness and—Naruto stop standing on your desk!"
Naruto yelped and fell back into his seat.
Sasuke sat perfectly straight.
Ethan sat perfectly calm.
But even as Iruka began lecturing, Ethan felt Sasuke's gaze flick toward him again.
Not hostile.
Not confrontational.
Curious.
Suspicious.
Interested.
A thread had connected them.
A small one, but real.
And the Naruto Node?
It definitely felt it.