Birth of the shadow: Uchiha sasuke x COTE fanfic

Sasuke woke up early, the quiet hum of the morning surrounding him. His daily routine had become almost automatic by now—meditation, a brief round of physical training, and mental exercises. But today, as he glanced at the calendar on his phone, something felt off.

May 1st. It had been exactly one month since the school year began.

He had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was wrong. Sasuke checked his phone again, looking at the account balance in the app where personal points were tracked. The number that appeared confirmed his suspicion: Zero points.

His brow furrowed slightly, though he wasn't surprised. He had sensed that there was more to this school than met the eye, and now the truth was beginning to reveal itself.

When Sasuke arrived in class, it was already filled with noise. Most students were in a frenzy, loudly complaining about the lack of personal points. The atmosphere was chaotic, with students buzzing with confusion and frustration. But Sasuke, calm as ever, made his way to his seat without paying much attention to the commotion.

As he sat down, Ayanokoji, who had been sitting nearby, leaned over slightly and asked in his usual disinterested tone, "Did you get any points this morning?"

"No," Sasuke replied coolly. His tone was indifferent, but his mind was sharp, already piecing together what was happening. He had suspected from the beginning that this school's system wasn't as straightforward as it seemed.

The noise in the classroom continued to grow. More students joined the conversation, voicing their concerns.

"What the hell is going on? I didn't get any points this morning!" Ike shouted from his desk, his voice cutting through the chatter. "Weren't we supposed to get 100,000 points every month?"

Several others echoed his complaints. Hondou, sitting a few seats away, looked equally confused. "Yeah! I couldn't even buy a juice this morning!"

Sasuke remained silent, watching the scene unfold with mild amusement. These idiots never paid attention to the details, he thought, already aware that they had been failing to understand the system from the start. They were too focused on the reward without considering the consequences.

Suddenly, the classroom door slid open, and Chabashira-sensei walked in, her expression grim and serious. In her hand, she held a large poster. The room fell quiet as the students sensed the weight of her presence.

As she approached the front of the classroom, Ike muttered under his breath, "Is she on her menopause or something?" A few students nearby snickered, but Chabashira-sensei paid no attention to the remark.

"Homeroom is starting," she announced flatly, her voice cutting through the last remnants of chatter. "If anyone has questions, now is the time to ask."

Almost immediately, several hands shot up.

Hondou was the first to speak. "Why didn't we get any personal points this month? You said we'd get 100,000 points every month, right?"

Chabashira raised an eyebrow and looked directly at him. "I explained it to you all on the first day," she said, her tone as sharp as ever. "Every student receives personal points on the first of every month."

"But I didn't get any points this morning!" Hondou protested, his voice rising in frustration.

Beside him, Yamauchi nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I didn't get any either!"

Ike, sitting a few seats away, chimed in, "Same here! What's going on?"

The teacher's expression darkened as she regarded the class with a mixture of disdain and cold amusement. "Are you really that stupid?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

A few students gasped at her bluntness. "Stupid?" one of them repeated, clearly taken aback.

At that moment, Koenji, lounging at his desk with a self-satisfied grin, let out a loud, exaggerated laugh. "Ah, now I understand," he said with a theatrical wave of his hand. "It's quite simple, really."

All eyes turned to him, but Sasuke's attention had already been focused on Koenji. He knew this student wasn't as clueless as he pretended to be. Koenji had likely figured out what was happening just as quickly as Sasuke had.

Koenji stretched his arms lazily and spoke with his usual flamboyance. "The reason we didn't get any points is because we're in Class D. We're at the bottom."

Sasuke allowed a small smirk to cross his face. So, he figured it out too. It was amusing to watch the others scramble for answers when the truth had been right in front of them all along.

Ike stood up, pointing at Koenji. "What are you talking about? The teacher said we'd get 100,000 points every month!"

Koenji let out another laugh. "Did she? I don't recall her ever saying that exactly."

The students fell silent for a moment, processing what Koenji had just said. Slowly, they began to realize the truth.

Chabashira-sensei nodded, confirming Koenji's statement. "He's right. I never said you'd get 100,000 points every month, no matter what."

The atmosphere in the classroom shifted dramatically. The carefree, laid-back attitude of the students had vanished, replaced by a growing sense of dread.

Hirata, always the voice of reason, stood up, his face filled with concern. "Sensei, I don't understand. Why didn't we get any points this month? What happened?"

Chabashira's expression turned colder, and her eyes glinted with a cruel amusement as she unrolled the poster in her hand. "Let me explain," she said, holding up the poster for the class to see. "This school doesn't just hand out points for free. You have to earn them."

She began reading off a list of offenses: "Ninety-eight instances of tardiness, 391 cases of students using their phones in class, 157 violations of dress code…" She continued, counting off every infraction the class had committed over the past month.

"As a result of your behavior, all 100,000 points that should have been given to you this month have been reduced to zero," Chabashira finished, her voice cold and unforgiving. "You've proven yourselves to be worthless in the eyes of this school."

The room fell into a stunned silence. Many students stared at her in disbelief, while others looked around in panic. Hirata's face was pale, clearly overwhelmed by the revelation. Horikita was scribbling down notes, her face impassive as she calculated the full extent of the damage.

Sasuke, on the other hand, remained unfazed. 'Worthless', he thought, his eyes narrowing slightly. This class was always destined for the bottom. I knew that from the beginning.

He wasn't here to compete for points or prestige. But being forced into a position of weakness didn't sit well with him either. Sasuke glanced at his phone, noting that he still had a balance of 95,000 points. He had barely spent anything this past month—his lifestyle was minimalist, like that of a ninja, requiring little in the way of luxuries.

Still, the system was clear now. The school wasn't just measuring academics; it was evaluating everything—behavior, discipline, and contribution. And Class D had failed miserably.

As Chabashira-sensei finished her explanation, Hirata raised his hand again. "But sensei, no one told us this would happen. How were we supposed to know?"

Chabashira's gaze sharpened. "I never said you'd get 100,000 points every month without consequence. You simply assumed it. This school measures the abilities of its students, and right now, you've been evaluated as having the value of zero."

The class erupted in protests, but Sasuke tuned them out. He wasn't interested in the petty arguments or the students' newfound panic. What mattered was the lesson he had learned: This school rewards competence and punishes incompetence.

As he leaned back in his chair, Sasuke's mind was already shifting to the next step. He didn't care about the class competition right now, but he also had no intention of staying at the bottom. Being underestimated was useful, but staying weak was not an option.

'If I have to climb my way up, I will. But not on their terms. On mine.'