As the sight of the academy came into view, a small bloody grin tugged at Wu's mouth. His usual pale face was even more so, if that was possible, and his soft lips were a color of ruby due to the blood that had flowed again.
The most infuriating part was the mirror. Despite the blood and the exhaustion, his reflection remained disgustingly flawless, like a porcelain doll that had been carelessly dropped.
'Crap,'
Wiping the trickle of blood from the corners of his lips, he wasted no time in entering the magnificent building. He was followed ahead and behind by many students, all of them with either sleep deprived eyes or fiery passion which would soon be extinguished, though neither of those cases applied to the current him
Entering the still somewhat quiet classroom, he took the usual spot and began to doodle on a notebook so it would look like he was actually doing something. The only notable person in the class this early was the sleeping Nara, who was currently dead to the world, snoring softly on his desk. Wu didn't dare approach that guy.
Geniuses were dangerous. They asked questions. And given Wu's absolute inability to lie, a single conversation with a Nara could end with him on a chair in the Anbu torture and interrogation department.
As he continued to doodle, his chest pressed at the edge of the table and a sharp pain made him jolt. An involuntary shrill voice escaped his lips which could have been mistaken for a puppy calling out. The early birds around him turned towards the commotion, but he was already hiding beneath the table, blushing redder than the tomato a certain uchiha usually brings.
'Damnnation! Why am I even doing this?' Wu Ruminated about his consensual torture.
Today's morning training with the duo of sensei and student had been rather eventful. It had started with the usual ' Power of youth' crap, before it went into the run, luckily on their feet this time. Wu had, of course, augmented himself with his shadow, which made the pain slightly bearable. But that did not help him in what came next.
In a moment of stupidity or insanity, he had somehow provoked Lee using his special 'Mindgames' and had ended up in a sparring match with the green spandex wearing kid. That had gone as well as he had expected. Wu was not a genius by any means, in fact he was below average or worse. Might guy had called it "A catalyst for hardwork!". He was 90% sure that the guy didn't know what catalyst meant, the other 10% was convinced that he was in a simulation.
As a fellow ' youthful' individual, Might Guy had no problem in guiding Wu, letting him train alongside them and even providing him with a proper diet, not asking for the compensation which he knew Wu could not provide. The jonin had a good heart.
Wu could perform the basics of the taijutsu style taught to him, though not to the extent of mastery, yet he had a pretty good grasp of its moves. The spar with Lee had thrown all those thoughts to the gutter.
Wu's ribs throbbed in time with his heartbeat. Somewhere beneath his shirt, a massive, boot-shaped bruise was blossoming across his chest. Rock Lee was a menace. The bowl-cut menace hadn't just beaten him; he had made a ragdoll out of the doll like boy . If not for the shadow augmenting him, a few broken bones would be a given. He had zero battle experience aside from a few similar skirmishes with the boy, so it was natural that he had been beaten to a bloody pulp. Guy had decided to make them spar weekly after that, so that was a lovely thing.
***
"Ok so for today's class assessment, we will be checking accuracy. Everyone line up and get ready with your set of shuriken and kunai!" Iruka sensei's voice boomed across the training yard, followed immediately by a wave of groans and silent mutterings. There were some excited puppies but that would soon change.
Wu stood near the back of the line, his hands buried deep in his pockets. He hated this test. Shurikenjutsu required sharp hand-eye coordination, precise muscle control, and a steady pulse. Thanks to Rock Lee, Wu currently possessed the muscle control of a wet noodle and a pulse that felt like a sledgehammer against his bruised ribs.
"Hey! Watch where you're stepping, dattebayo!"
A loud voice shattered the morning peace. Wu didn't even flinch as a blur of bright orange stumbled backward, crashing directly into him. Wu sidestepped at the last possible second, letting Naruto Uzumaki fall flat on his back in the dirt.
"Ow..." Naruto grumbled, rubbing his head. He looked up to see Wu staring down at him with dead, empty eyes. "Please move, you are standing on my shadow…"
Those words went unheard by the blond ray of sunshine as he quickly jumped up and patted himself. That blinding grin still plastered on his face.
"Hey! Wu! You look terrible today!"
Wu sighed, closing his eyes. "Please go stand somewhere else. Your clothes are so violently bright it is giving me a migraine"
Naruto just let out a booming laugh, throwing an arm around Wu's fragile shoulder. Wu's bruised ribs screamed in protest, but his face remained a blank mask of apathy.
"Heh! You're always saying stuff like that, Wu!" Naruto grinned, completely ignoring the insult. "You don't have to be so embarrassed about wanting to hang out with me! Pervy Sage says guys who act all cold but hang around anyway are just 'tsunderes'!"
He stared at Naruto, the absolute void of his soul reflecting in his dark eyes. 'A tsundere? He thinks I am a tsundere!?'
"I am not repressing affection," the Flaw forced Wu to say. "I genuinely find your presence somewhat exhausting, but standing near you makes the girls stop staring at me."
"Sure, sure! Your secret is safe with me!" Naruto winked, giving him a thumbs-up.
Wu sighed, closing his eyes. 'There is no logic in this village. Only madness.'
"Uchiha Sasuke! You're up!" Iruka called out.
The temperature of the yard seemed to rise as every girl in a fifty-foot radius let out a collective, high-pitched sigh. Sasuke stepped up , looking like the emo he was. In one fluid motion, he drew three kunai and flicked his wrists.
Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.
They hit dead center on all the wooden targets.
"Excellent, Sasuke! Perfect score," Iruka praised.
Sasuke turned around, his dark eyes sweeping over the cheering fan-girls before locking directly onto Wu. He stood there, smirking slightly, silently demanding a reaction.
"Wu Ri De! You're next!" Iruka sensei's voice boomed again.
A soft murmur rippled through the female half of the class as Wu shuffled up to the line.
"He looks so pale today," Sakura whispered loudly to Ino. "Like a delicate winter flower."
"I heard he trains so hard in secret he coughs up blood," Ino whispered back, her eyes sparkling with tragic romance.
Wu gripped the heavy iron kunai, his knuckles white. ' That's called internal bleeding you damn fools! How is this girl a future medic…'
He squared his stance, wincing as his bruised collarbone screamed in protest. 'Just hit the target. Get at least a C-minus so Iruka doesn't yell at me.'
He narrowed his eyes, trying his absolute hardest to focus. He threw the first kunai. It hit the outer white ring.
He threw the second. It wavered in the air and struck the very edge of the wooden board, barely sticking.
He gripped the third kunai, desperate to at least hit the red ring. He threw it with all the strength he could muster. His grip slipped on his sweaty palm. The kunai sailed completely over the target, embedding itself firmly into the dirt ten feet behind the wooden post.
Silence fell over the yard.
"Uh... two out of three on the board. Barely. Passing grade, I suppose," Iruka said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Try to keep a firmer grip next time, Wu."
Wu sighed heavily. It was pathetic, but a pass was a pass. He turned to walk back to the line, wiping a bead of cold sweat from his perfectly sculpted jawline. Several girls swooned at the elegance.
"Tch. Pathetic."
Wu paused. Sasuke was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed and a dark scowl on his face.
"You missed on purpose," Sasuke muttered, his Sharingan practically itching to activate. "I saw your wrist adjust at the last second. You deliberately threw the last one into the dirt just to maintain your average score. Why do you mock me? Show me your true strength!"
Wu blinked. "I missed," he stated, the Flaw forcing his voice into an icy absolute, "because I have a terrible aim, and my ribs are currently black and blue . I am not mocking you. "
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. To the Uchiha, Wu's absolute lack of shame meant only one thing: It was an advanced taunt.
"Fine. Keep playing the fool," Sasuke whispered, turning away. "But I will expose you eventually. "
From the back of the crown, slumping on the bench, Shikamaru Nara cracked one eye open, staring at the kunai Wu had thrown into the dirt.
'He missed the target... but the blade landed exactly on the tripwire hidden in the grass that Iruka-sensei set up for the trap-avoidance test later' Shikamaru analyzed lazily. 'He disarmed the battlefield without anyone noticing. What a terrifying way of misdirection. Troublesome guy.
Wu returned to his spot next to Naruto, completely unaware of the massive delusions forming around him. He just rubbed his chest, desperately wondering if the Academy served lunch early today. He still had to work at the shop as well.