Minato goes to school
Minato is outside the academy door and his hand hovers just over the doorknob. His heart is thumping and he’s sweating a little.
It’s no big deal really, it’s just Minato's first day at the academy. He’s only a year younger than everyone. No big deal.
He really hopes he knows at least one person in his new class.
He takes a deep breath, counts to three and opens the door.
He takes a cautious step inside and exhales.
Nobody’s paying much attention to him, too engrossed in talking to their friends, one or two people are looking at him but that’s fine. His eyes are glued to Shikaku, Chouza and Inoichi sitting at the top row.
He’s hung out with Shikaku and Chouza a few more times, they had watched clouds and Chouza had even hooked him up with some free Akimichi samples. He had also met Inoichi three times. Inoichi had been more outgoing then he was used to but he had been nice to Minato.
That wouldn’t change in the academy right?
Yeah Minato’s getting nervous again.
On one hand if he pretends he didn’t see them and goes to sit in another row he’ll save himself a lot of embarrassment and definite social suicide if the three clan heirs ignore him. However he would associate himself with civilians like him and he would be brushed aside and be less considered for opportunities.
On the other hand if he sat with the clan heirs he wouldn’t be brushed off so easily and have more influence if he got closer to the three of them. It was a no brainer really.
Minato gathered his courage and made his way up to where they were sitting, silently praying to not be rebuffed.
Chouza looked up and—
“Minato! You're in the academy? Come sit with me I have a new sample of Akimichi honey spicy barbecue chips!”
Minato loves Chouza so much.
With Chouza’s exclamation Shikaku and Inoichi both look up and Inoichi’s face brightens a little and Shikaku raises a lazy eyebrow and pointedly takes his backpack off of the seat next to Chouza.
Minato’s heart feels bubbly and full as he scampers up to take his seat next to the three of them. Chouza hands him a few chips and excitedly waits for his review.
He thinks he finally has friends.
Minato is actually kinda bored.
He already knows all this crap already. Shikaku is sleeping on his right, Chouza finished the chips and is now snacking on dried spiced mango strips next to him, occasionally slipping him a piece and Inoichi is passing notes with five other people.
After the introductions the teacher had started droning on and on about what they were expected to know, do and boring stuff. Minato was already five, he knew everything that Onikuma sensei was talking about already.
He was looking forward to the practice spars though, Onikuma sensei had said that practice spars would start soon.
Minato sighed and put his head on his arms. Unlike Shikaku he didn’t have the privilege of going to sleep during the academy. He really wanted to though.
Minato settled himself and waited for the lunch bell to ring. He chews on a spiced mango strip and resigns himself to a long few hours.
When the lunch bell finally does go off, Shikaku raises his head blinking sleepily, Inoichi breaks into a wide grin and turns to them. “I’m gonna go network. Bye!”
Damn, Inoichi really just left huh.
“Urgh” Shikaku slowly gets to his feet, joints popping like he’s 30 and old. “C'mon you guys, I know a great nap–lunch place.”
“Uh huh” Minato shoots him a slightly disbelieving look and springs to his feet grabbing his worn backpack in one smooth move. Chouza also gets up and slips him another mango strip. Minato might be in love with him.
He skips down the steps feeling light and bubbly. His first lunch time! He had even packed himself his own lunch now that he had moved out of the orphanage. He jumps down ignoring the last four steps and lands lightly still grinning. He looks up at Chouza and Shikaku. “C'mon! Let's go!” His excitement is a little infectious and Chouza grins too and drags Shikaku behind him.
Minato starts to go toward the door and–trips? He almost regains his balance but feels a kick to the back of the knee. He sprawls forward landing hard on his hands and knees. He glances up and–oh. Onikuma sensei is behind him with a mean look on her face. She leans in close and grips his shoulder too tightly, nails digging in. Her hot breath ghosts over his ear. “I don’t know how you managed to swindle your way into this class, but we both know what you really are. An orphan clanless scum. Bad blood you see.” She releases him and sends a sickly sweet smile to Chouza and Shikaku who are just standing there. “Chouza sama, Shikaku sama.” She demures and goes back to her desk leaving Minato still on the floor.
Minato rises to his feet. He’s met these kinds of people before–the suck ups to the major clans that look down on people like him. They think that they can get away with anything because they can. He’s seen and heard a lot worse than this happening in the academy, he had just—forgotten in his excitement. He forces on a smile even as he thinks his cheeks might burst into flame. “Let's go guys.”
He walks out of the classroom with Chouza and Shikaku following at a slower pace behind him. Minato’s brain is still kind of buzzing, he shouldn’t have gotten so excited, so loud. He should have known better, remembered who he was. He had just been looking forward to eating lunch with his friends that he had forgotten. Minato silently swears to himself that he won’t forget again.
They get outside and Minato instinctively makes a beeline for a small rather hidden secluded spot. He’s spacing out a little and it's only until he spins around to sit down that he remembers Shikaku and Chouza. They're standing in front of him and at his look they both sit down next to him. No one is talking.
Minato takes his small lunch out of his bag, and Shikaku and Chouza do the same. Minato opens his bag and takes out his small plastic container and breathes a sigh of relief at the food. He had been a little afraid that his lunch would spill out after his fall but it was still intact! He takes his metal chopsticks and starts shoveling the rice into his mouth.
“What was that?” Minato blinks, confused at Shikaku’s question. “What was what?”
Shikaku’s face is drawn in anger. “That–what Onikuma sensei did.” He spits out the name like he’s angry. Minato wonders why Shikaku is angry, did Onikuma sensei do something to him? He asks Shikaku and his face sours even more.
“No–but she pushed you, and said bad things to you.” Chouza nods, not even snacking on anything. “That wasn’t okay Minato.”
Oh–they're angry for Minato. His heart fills a little and the remaining bitterness is washed aside.
“It’s normal, don’t worry about it.” There, that should be good enough right?
Shikaku and Chouza look like they're going to explode.
“Thats-I-thats not normal Minato.” Chouza pipes in this time with Shikaku nodding along. Oh yeah, Minato forgets sometimes that his friends are different from him.
Minato gives a half hearted shrug “it's normal for people like me.” Shikaku squints at him, “whats that supposed to mean?” Urgh–Minato didn’t mean for it to come out like that.
He squints back a little defensively, did Shikaku seriously not realize the differences between him and Minato?
“Your clanborn–clan heirs. You're important. I’m clanless–actually–I don't even have parents. Look at it this way, if someone like me went missing–I doubt anyone would even notice. If someone like you went missing–a war would probably start.” He delivers it matter a factly because that's what it is–a fact.
Chouza looks horrified while Shikaku is observing him slowly, as if seeing him for the first time. Minato notices the way Shikaku’s eyes flick down to his bento taking it in, Minato squashes down the urge to cover his lunch reflexively. So what if the only thing in it was rice? It was better than what he got in the orphanage.
Minato—Minato isn’t going to back down, isn’t going to retreat like he’s lesser than them. If Chouza and Shikaku start expecting him to treat them as higher class they’ve got another thing coming. Because Minato has never known his parents, but he thinks that they cared about him—loved him. He won’t waste their sacrifice for him, he will not dishonor their memory. He won’t—he won’t do it. So he meets the older boy’s eye and isn’t ashamed.