With Rin still absent, Raj decided to sneak into Anko's classroom.
Anko's class was right by the playground, and since Anko always sat in the last row, she was easy to spot.
The cat crept quietly over and soon spotted the little loli.
She was sitting at her desk, secretly munching on dumplings.
From the teacher's perspective, it was obvious which students were up to mischief, especially since all the teachers were Chunin.
Anko's attempts at stealth were laughably clumsy.
But the teacher didn't call her out.
He was used to it.
Every day, countless students failed to pay attention.
If he had to discipline each one, he'd never get through the lesson - he'd spend all his time scolding them.
Take Hayate Gekko, for example, another student in the class.
Hayate had been frail and sickly since childhood.
The worst part was... every time the teacher reached a crucial point in the lesson, the boy would erupt into a violent coughing fit.
After teaching this brat for over a year, the teacher still couldn't figure out if it was deliberate.
In any case, it was exhausting.
He didn't even want to talk about it anymore.
Anko poked another dumpling, ready to eat it, when a black shadow whooshed past, and in an instant, the dumpling vanished from her hand.
She froze for two seconds, then looked down to see the little black cat.
Though the dumpling had been snatched, Anko's mood instantly brightened at the sight of the cat and the feel of its soft fur.
All her bad feelings evaporated like smoke.
She carefully picked up Raj.
'So soft!'
Anko's eyes seemed to glow as her hands fidgeted, stroking him with a look of indescribable delight.
At the same time, she felt a pang of regret.
'Having a cat is just too wonderful! Why didn't I ask to keep one before?'
Ordinary cats were common, but Ninja Cats were rare.
Now that the opportunity had passed, there was little chance of getting another.
Raising a Ninja Cat would have been amazing.
Raj was thoroughly enjoying himself.
The little girl's hands were as soft as boneless silk, her touch perfectly balanced - she was practically a master masseuse...
'So cute~'
Anko's affection grew stronger.
'If only I'd seized the chance when we first met. Now he's someone else's cat. If I ever get another chance, I won't let the opportunity to raise a black cat slip away.'
As she pondered this, she noticed the name tag on Raj's collar.
Raj Rin.
She recognized Rin - the older girl who lived upstairs.
So "Raj" must be the cat's name.
'How peculiar.'
'Why not just name him Nekko?'
Just then, the teacher cleared his throat and said, "Some of you students, stop fidgeting and pay attention to the lecture."
A flurry of students straightened up, including Anko, who stopped what she was doing and focused on the blackboard.
But while her attention drifted, Raj slipped out of her arms.
It had spotted new prey: Hayate.
If not for Hayate's cough, she wouldn't have noticed such talent in the class.
Speaking of which... if Hayate was here, where was Uzuki Yugao?
Seeing the little black cat wriggle free, Anko immediately tried to grab it, but remembering she was in class, she looked up to find the teacher staring at her again.
She could only watch helplessly as Raj darted forward.
'Please don't get caught!'
Raj was remarkably stealthy.
Being pitch-black and moving silently, it was practically invisible to anyone not already distracted from the lecture.
Under the cover of Hayate's persistent coughing, it easily reached his side.
But as Raj drew closer, Hayate's coughing intensified, becoming relentless.
After a prolonged fit, the teacher noticed something was wrong.
"Hayate, are you alright?"
"I... cough cough cough I'm sorry, I... cough I don't know..."
Hayate's face flushed crimson from coughing.
'I know, you're allergic to cats.'
The culprit hid behind him, initially planning to retreat.
However, after noticing its points slowly increasing, it decided to linger a bit longer.
'Young man, your value is no less than Asuma's.'
"Cough, cough, cough~"
The violent coughing made the entire class uneasy.
In the whole school, Hayate was the last person anyone dared provoke.
Despite his frail appearance, his swordsmanship was exceptionally strong, making him a formidable opponent.
Unfortunately, his health was poor.
But even with his weak constitution, he'd never been this bad before.
The sound of his coughing made it seem like he was about to cough up his lungs.
The teacher on the platform frowned slightly.
Not being a Medical Ninja, he wasn't familiar with Hayate's condition.
But Hayate had never been this severe before; today was clearly unusual.
'Alright, time to slip away. This coughing is getting too intense.'
Raj crouched for a while longer, then guiltily retreated backward.
'Do as you please, but cause no harm.'
If it actually made Hayate sick, the Gekko Clan would likely hunt it down to its home with swords drawn.
Even the Nohara Family's influence might not be enough to protect it then.
'Besides... it's just cat dander, not like it's actually harmful.'
Raj lowered his footsteps and quietly slipped back to Anko's side from beside Hayate.
Anko initially looked puzzled, but when she saw the black cat return, she began to suspect what had happened.
Hayate had likely been tricked by this cat.
'Poor Hayate. He'll probably never be able to get along with cats for the rest of his life.'
Anko felt sorry for the Gekko Clan's young boy, unable to cuddle cats - truly a great tragedy in life.
After Raj moved away, the coughing finally subsided.
"Teacher, I'm sorry," Hayate said, bowing in apology.
Seeing the boy's bewildered expression, the teacher couldn't bring himself to scold him.
Still, he couldn't shake off a lingering sense of confusion.
'What exactly just happened?'
After a moment's thought, he said out of concern, "Hayate, if you're feeling unwell, you should go home and rest properly. You've already mastered today's lesson, so missing one class won't matter."
"Uh... thank you, Teacher."
Hayate hesitated for a moment before decisively packing up his things and heading home.
He, too, found the situation strange.
'Why did I suddenly start coughing so violently for no apparent reason?'
After gathering his books, he left through the main entrance.
As he approached the back door, the feeling returned, and he began coughing uncontrollably.
After taking a few more steps, he saw Anko cradling a kitten.
A half-year-old black kitten.
He didn't pay much attention and hurried past, but after walking a short distance, he realized something was off.
'Could it be the cat?'
He stood there for a moment, feeling perfectly fine, then retreated back to the back door.
Raj, thinking Hayate had left, breathed a sigh of relief and continued causing mischief around the area to earn points, not immediately making a getaway.
When Hayate returned, he caught Raj playing with the hair of a girl in the front row.
"Cough, cough, cough~"
The violent coughing erupted again from the back door, causing Raj to immediately retract his paw.
Anko was startled as well.
The person at the back door turned to reveal Hayate, his eyes glaring fiercely as he coughed violently.
'Case solved!'
His coughing was caused by this cat, which had been right behind him earlier.
"Hayate, is something wrong?" the teacher asked, puzzled.