Rainy Day

The low-hanging clouds were a deep gray. After washing up and changing clothes, Naruto pushed open the door, and the distant sky instantly darkened with a heavy gloom.

As if someone had turned off the lights above the clouds, the surrounding light abruptly dimmed. Then a thunderclap roared across the sky, and a torrential downpour fell without warning.

Naruto and Sakura stood on the porch at the entrance, staring dumbfounded at the thick curtain of rain.

"Did Konoha's weather forecast say it would rain today?" Sakura stood by the wall, frowning at the white mist that had blurred almost instantly.

"The weather was already gloomy this morning," Naruto grumbled. "Good news is, I have an umbrella."

About an hour later, the rain eased a little.

"Let's go," Sakura said, standing up.

"Oh," Naruto replied, stepping out and locking the door behind him.

With a thwump, the black umbrella opened. The two of them huddled together under it; luckily, the canopy was big enough that they didn't have to worry about getting wet.

"Naruto," Sakura broke the silence, her mood seeming a bit low.

"Hm."

"The way those people looked at us just now... why was it like that?" Sakura asked worriedly. "They're residents of the apartment building too, right?"

When they'd walked out of the building together, Sakura had seen for the first time the villagers standing under the eaves wearing gloomy expressions, as if they were looking at something utterly detestable.

"It's because you're walking beside me, so you're hated along with me," Naruto said.

"Is that really okay?" Sakura couldn't help but shiver. "Naruto, you've been looked at like that all along—"

She didn't finish the sentence, cutting herself off.

"Yeah, it's fine." Naruto didn't seem bothered by her words. Holding the umbrella, his eyes were steady, fixed straight ahead.

The street underfoot was covered in rainwater. Summer was always full of rain, and the black umbrella stood out starkly against the cold, empty street.

His voice was firm and cool, as plain as freshly cooled boiled water.

"I stopped caring about them a long time ago. It might sound harsh to say, but they're really just brainless parasites, parroting whatever they hear."

"Or rather, hating me gives them a way to band together. No one wants to be the odd one out, right?"

Rain pounded against the black umbrella with a rustling sound.

"With all due respect, they're just alive for the sake of being alive, aren't they? Wearing human skin, the only meaningful things they do are work and reproduce."

Listening to Naruto's words, Sakura didn't know what to say.

They passed through the old streets and stopped in front of a gift shop. Naruto gestured for Sakura to go in first. Confused, she looked at him questioningly.

"If you go in with me, the owner might not sell to you."

Hearing that, Sakura froze for a moment. She looked up at Naruto, then at the rain outside, hesitated briefly, and finally turned to go in first.

After a pause, once he figured Sakura had probably made her choice, Naruto stepped into the shop.

The owner recognized Naruto, frowned at him, but said nothing.

At that moment, Sakura was walking back out, holding a gift—a cute blue plush toy. Naruto nodded and turned to head out the door.

"Leaving without buying anything?" the owner, sitting by the entrance, suddenly sneered. "Next time you're broke, don't bother coming to my shop."

Naruto ignored him and kept walking.

Sakura, however, felt a sting in her heart, like a needle prick. Her brow furrowed deeply, and her fingers dug into the plush toy.

Ninja weren't allowed to harm villagers of their own village—that was clearly stated in the ninja code. The owner obviously knew that too, watching Naruto walk out of the shop without the slightest restraint.

Even though she'd been mentally prepared, seeing such blatant bullying happen right in front of her, and the one being bullied being her own teammate...

Sakura hurled the plush toy back into the owner's arms with a grudge, startling him.

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm not buying it! What a crappy store!" Sakura glared at the owner and stormed out.

"Crazy or what? Seriously!"

Sakura stepped out of the gift shop and looked at Naruto, who was waiting for her under the eaves of another building to stay out of the rain. She pursed her lips and said, "The stuff was no good. I didn't buy it."

"Mm." Naruto said nothing, just opened the big black umbrella and stepped into the rain.

"I was thinking of going to the Ninja Tool Shop to buy a wrist guard for Sasuke. What do you think?" Sakura forced a smile. "I don't know what guys like, so I asked you to come along and help me decide."

"I didn't know this would happen. I didn't think it through. I'm sorry."

By the end, her voice had dropped lower and lower.

"No need to apologize. I heard everything just now. You could have bought it, actually," Naruto said casually. "I don't care at all what those bugs say."

"Bugs?" Sakura blinked, not catching on at first.

"Yeah, I think of those people as bugs," Naruto said. "The truth is, aside from ostracizing me, they can't do anything to me."

"They have no power. They live in a fog in this world. Even now that I'm a ninja, they still talk trash to me like always."

"Bugs like that—whether they live or die doesn't matter. I've never taken them seriously. To me, they're just Konoha's bugs."

The more Sakura listened, the more nervous she became, barely managing to change the subject. But just as she was about to speak, a flash of striking gold darted past her vision.

"How did you two end up walking together?" Ino lifted her umbrella, standing in the rain as she eyed them with a teasing look.

Afraid Ino would find out she was preparing a birthday gift for Sasuke, and even more afraid Naruto might let it slip, Sakura quickly blurted out an explanation.

"I asked Naruto to help me with something!"

"Huh?" Ino stared at Sakura suspiciously. "Since when are you two so close? Close enough to be asking favors of each other?"

"It's about training! Right, Naruto?" Sakura's concern made her clumsy, her awkward demeanor clearly betraying a lie.

"Yeah." Naruto nodded.

"Training?" Ino withdrew her gaze, the gossipy suspicion on her face slowly fading.

She did know the two had been assigned to the same team as Sasuke, and Naruto's first-place finish in the graduation exam had indeed been surprising.

If it was about asking for training advice, that was plausible enough.

But there was still one thing bothering Ino—ever since Naruto had said that line about Sasuke not liking women right in front of her, it had practically become her Inner Demon.

"I saw you two walking together for a while. So, are you done asking?" Ino inquired.

"Done. Asking." Sakura said helplessly, unable to spin another lie.

"Alright then." With that, Ino shoved her umbrella into Sakura's hands and grabbed Naruto, dragging him off at a run!

"What?" Sakura stood frozen.

"Borrowing him for a bit!" Ino's voice came from far away as the two vanished from sight.