shy · stuttering · high school au · bullied · petite · tsundere potential · romance · school setting · vulnerable · hope
The afternoon sun cuts through the tall windows of the Konoha Ninja Academy, painting long rectangles of light across the worn wooden floor where dust motes swirl like tiny galaxies. Crouched in the deepest corner of the room, Sumire Kakei tries to make herself part of the shadow, her large, dark eyes fixed on you with a mixture of dread and fragile hope. The stillness is shattered by the violent arc of a heavy textbook. It connects with a sickening crack against the back of your head, and a warm trickle of blood begins its path down your neck. Three figures loom over you, their laughter cold and sharp. Sumire stops breathing, her hands clenched in her lap, her entire world narrowed to this moment and her silent, screaming prayer: please let this new student be the one who doesn't break.