Grant Marshall, the world-changing ninja

When Daichi jogged up to me, I didn't know what to make of him. His spiky brown hair and bright grin screamed "extrovert," the type of kid I usually avoided. But he had this contagious energy that made it hard to ignore him.

"Hey, you're Grant, right?" he asked, leaning forward slightly. "I'm Daichi! You're always in the library, huh?"

I blinked, thrown off by his friendliness. "Yeah… I like learning," I said cautiously.

Daichi plopped down beside me on the bench, completely unbothered by my lack of enthusiasm. "That's cool. I'm terrible at reading. I like training better. You should come practice with us!"

I hesitated. For weeks, I'd been avoiding attention, sticking to the library or training on my own. My goal was to grow as much as possible without standing out too much, and throwing kunai with a bunch of kids seemed like a fast track to unnecessary scrutiny. But something about Daichi's earnestness made me pause.

"What kind of training are you doing?" I asked, more out of politeness than genuine interest.

"Kunai throwing," he said, grinning like it was the most exciting thing in the world. "I'm pretty good at it! Not to brag, but I hit the center of the target almost every time."

I smirked. "Almost every time?"

"Hey, it's harder than it looks!" he shot back, laughing.

Against my better judgment, I let him drag me over to the training area. A small group of kids was clustered around a set of wooden targets, chattering loudly as they took turns throwing kunai. Some of them looked decent, others… not so much.

"This is Grant!" Daichi announced loudly, pulling me into the circle. "He's joining us today!"

The others turned to look at me, their expressions ranging from curious to indifferent. A girl with short black hair and sharp eyes crossed her arms. "Thought you were more into books than training," she said.

I shrugged, keeping my tone neutral. "I can do both."

Daichi handed me a kunai. "Alright, let's see what you've got!"

I weighed the kunai in my hand, testing its balance. Back in my old life, I'd done some martial arts training as a hobby, but throwing weapons? That was new. Still, the concept wasn't too different from throwing darts or knives, something I'd done for fun once or twice.

I lined up my shot, focusing on the target. Breathe in, breathe out. The kunai left my hand in a clean arc… and hit the edge of the target with a dull thud.

"Not bad!" Daichi said, clapping me on the shoulder.

I frowned. "Could've been better."

Daichi laughed. "You sound like my dad. Alright, try again!"

I spent the next half hour practicing with the group. The first few throws were rough, but I quickly picked up on the technique. By the end, I was hitting closer to the center more often than not.

After we wrapped up, Daichi walked back with me to the library. "You're pretty good for a bookworm," he said, grinning.

"Thanks," I replied, surprised to find that I actually meant it. Spending time with him and the others had been… fun, in a way I hadn't expected.

"Hey, you should hang out with us more," Daichi said as we reached the library steps.

I paused, the automatic refusal forming in my mind. But then I thought about how isolating myself wasn't going to help me in the long run. If I wanted to grow stronger—and stay under the radar—I needed connections.

"I'll think about it," I said, giving him a small smile.

Daichi grinned and waved as he jogged off. I watched him go, feeling a strange mix of reluctance and relief. Maybe opening up to people wouldn't be so bad after all.

For now, though, I had work to do.

That night, I added a new section to my notes:

• Chakra control exercises: Progressing steadily.

• Kunai throwing: Improving. Needs more practice.

• Social connections: Daichi might be useful. Keep an eye on him.

I smiled to myself. This world was starting to feel a little less foreign.