Nettaiya Helix
Ninja Academy - Class 4A
Nettaiya tapped one hand idly as the class waited, their uncertainty taking the form of a sustained low chatter. If one cast their eyes across the classroom, it wouldn't be hard to find the drastically varying points of the emotional spectrum - those students who looked terrified and those who merely looked bored.
Nettaiya was one of the latter, for he had nothing to fear; his squad was already decided...
At some stage that week, an older ninja had told Nettaiya about an academy secret - that the squads were decided, not beforehand, but based on who you sat next to during the reading. Naturally, Nettaiya had believed the rumour without so much as a hint of afterthought - thus he had opted to sit at the back of the class, next to his haphazard friends; two underachievers, who had only made it to this stage by the skin of their teeth.
Nettaiya grinned slightly, glancing over the other students, a feeling of faux pity coursing through him. The poor kids... destined to hang with strangers for the rest of their training...
At last Hiro entered, the headmaster that Nettaiya hated to love. She had never been unkind to him, even despite his occasional rule-breaking - all of Nettaiya's transgressions had been met with a kindly tone and eventual forgiveness. As such, he respected the woman - though it pained him to admit it.
After a brief introduction, Hiro read out the squad names whilst Nettaiya listened with bated breath.
"Squad 3 is as followed: Aki Moruma, Nettaiya Helix, and Teru Naoki. The sensei is Kyouka Hasegawa."
"What?!"
Nettaiya couldn't help letting out a short cry of shock, a sound that turned a few disgruntled heads. Hiro continued to read, whilst Nettaiya sunk in his seat, a pained future flashing before his hidden eyes. The rumour had been false.. after he'd put so much faith into it..
Nettaiya glanced about the classroom hurriedly, trying to pin faces to the names of his squad-mates, though it was to no avail. He simply had no idea who Aki and Teru were - despite all the years that they had shared in the academy. He'd never even bothered to learn their names.
Strangers... he'd been paired with strangers...
Nettaiya placed a single shaking hand over his face as the headmaster departed, resigning himself to listening, as the classroom came to life with sudden motion.
Students moving to talk to their teammates. Like it or not, he'd have to put up with whoever approached him. Either that....
Or he'd have to leave the academy.