"If chakra is the water, then hand signs are the faucet," Iruka was saying, drawing a flowing diagram across the blackboard. "But no matter how much chakra you have, without control—"
He grabbed the eraser, gave the board one firm swipe—
Fwip!
The eraser rocketed out of his hand like it had been fired from a spring-loaded trap. It slammed into the opposite wall, bounced off a desk, then careened into the supply cabinet.
With every collision, it shed massive clouds of chalk dust—far more than it could have possibly stored. The classroom filled with white haze in seconds.
Students coughed and ducked for cover. Naruto burst out laughing. Sakura let out a furious shriek.
Iruka, coughing and ghost-white from head to toe, turned in slow motion toward the back row.
Tama sat up straight, one hand raised politely.
"I think the eraser's entering its rebellious phase."
"Out."
"Understood."
---
Tama didn't mind being sent outside. He liked the sun, and the training field was quieter than the classroom. Besides, he could still hear the lesson through the window if he wanted.
He didn't.
Instead, he found a stick and began using it to draw strange looping patterns into the dirt. Arcs and spirals and measuring lines. His finger tapped his temple as he thought, eyes squinting with delight.
"Maybe if I combine surface area increase with delayed density recovery…" he muttered.
"Still doing weird math dirt magic?"
Tama looked up to see Naruto peeking through the window with a grin. His hair was dusted with chalk.
"You looked like a frosted cupcake back there," Tama said.
Naruto laughed. "Totally worth it."
---
At lunch, the courtyard was alive with chatter. Shikamaru and Ino sat with Tama under their usual tree.
"You're pushing it," Ino said, flicking a piece of rice off her skirt. "Even I think you might get suspended soon."
"Wouldn't be the worst thing," Tama said, biting into a rice ball. "More time for experimentation."
"You're gonna turn the entire building into a balloon one day," Shikamaru muttered. "Too troublesome."
Over by the water pumps, Kiba was grumbling. He kept glancing at Tama.
"I'm just saying, it's not normal," Kiba said loudly. "That's not clan jutsu. That's some kinda... freak technique."
Choji, who'd been quiet up until now, spoke hesitantly. "It's not Expansion… our clan elders said Tama's technique isn't recorded anywhere."
A few heads turned. One younger student whispered, "Do you think he's cursed?"
Tama didn't rise to it. He just kept chewing.
But Shikamaru did.
"He's not cursed," Shikamaru said flatly. "He's just weird. There's a difference."
Ino nodded. "Weird and annoying. But he's ours."
Tama smiled through his rice ball.
---
That afternoon, the class assembled at the wide outdoor training grounds. Trees bordered the perimeter, and soft grass stretched between scattered obstacles—stumps, brush, dips in terrain.
Several instructors stood throughout the course, blindfolded and listening intently. Each acted as a sentry. The objective: sneak from the starting line to the bell at the far end without making a sound.
Sakura tried first. She got halfway before brushing a branch. The nearest instructor turned his head sharply. "Caught."
Naruto followed. He stepped on a root, swore loudly, and got disqualified before he'd taken three steps.
Then it was Tama's turn.
He crouched at the starting line, thinking. Then, with a quiet breath, he touched the ground beneath his feet and released his ability.
"Elastic Reality: Super Slide."
His sandals skimmed across the grass like skates on ice, without a whisper of sound. He glided forward in a smooth, unnatural line, shifting his weight with practiced ease.
Near the halfway point, he stopped briefly and adjusted the fabric of his pants—stiffening it just enough to keep it from rustling. Then he was off again, sliding low, no sound at all.
A few of the waiting students stared.
"He's skating," Ino whispered.
"He reduced the ground's friction," Shikamaru muttered. "He's literally skating through a stealth trial. That shouldn't even work."
No footsteps. No rustling. No breath louder than a whisper.
Tama reached the bell, tapped it once with the gentlest ding, and turned to walk back—grinning the whole way.
Iruka narrowed his eyes. "...Creative."
"Thank you, Sensei," Tama said brightly. "Measurement-based movement."
Next up was Kiba.
He ran in fast, crouched low, moving with confidence.
Then he hit Tama's low-friction zone.
"What the—?!"
His legs slipped out from under him. He slid ten feet, flailed to stop himself, and barely avoided face-planting into a tree. He tumbled to a stop in a heap.
The class erupted in laughter.
Tama tilted his head, then raised his hand. "Residual slipperiness. My bad."
Iruka exhaled slowly. "Tama. Neutralize the ground."
"Right away, Sensei."
---
After the exercise, Iruka called Tama aside.
They stood just off the field, near the tool shed. The sun filtered through the trees above, painting shifting shadows on the grass.
"You're not in trouble," Iruka said, hands on his hips. "But we need to talk."
Tama rocked on his heels. "About the grass?"
"About everything."
Iruka crouched a little to meet him at eye level. "Tama. You're talented. And clever. And… unpredictable. But if you keep treating everything like a joke, someone's going to get hurt."
Tama said nothing.
"You know I'm not trying to stop you," Iruka said gently. "But I am asking you to think. Not just about what you can do—but what you should do."
Tama's expression shifted—just a flicker—but he nodded. "Okay."
Iruka let him go without another word.
---
The walk home was quieter than usual. Naruto kicked at a rock along the road, watching it bounce off the curb every few steps.
"That thing with the tree was cool," he said.
Tama shrugged. "It was messy."
"I like messy."
"You like loud."
Naruto smirked. "Same thing."
They reached the corner where the road split—one way toward the apartment blocks, the other toward the clan district.
"You coming by for dinner?" Naruto asked.
"Tomorrow," Tama said. "I've got to write something down before I forget."
"Something for class?"
"Something for later."
Naruto nodded and gave a lazy wave. "Don't blow up any fences tonight."
"No promises."
Tama walked the rest of the way alone, measuring the length of his shadow as it stretched along the path in front of him.