Rain

The low-hanging clouds were dark gray. After Naruto washed up and changed clothes, he pushed open the door, and the sky in the distance instantly darkened beneath heavy clouds.

It was as though someone had switched off the lights above the clouds, and the surrounding light abruptly dimmed. Then, with a booming clap of thunder that echoed across the sky, a torrential downpour fell without warning.

Naruto and Sakura stood in the hallway outside the door, staring blankly at the thick curtain of rain.

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

"The weather was gloomy this morning to begin with, wasn't it?" Naruto said. "The good news is, I have an umbrella."

About an hour later, the rain eased somewhat.

"Let's go," Sakura said, getting to her feet.

"Yeah." Naruto answered, stepping outside and locking the door.

With a snap, the pitch-black umbrella opened. The two shared the black umbrella. Fortunately, it was large enough that they did not have to worry about getting wet.

"Naruto." Sakura broke the silence, and she seemed somewhat downcast.

"Yeah?"

"Why did those people look at us... like that?" Sakura asked worriedly. "They were residents of the apartment too, right?"

When the two had left the apartment together, Sakura had seen for the first time the gloomy expressions of the villagers standing beneath the eaves, as though they were looking at something they utterly despised.

"Because you were walking beside me, they hated you along with me," Naruto said.

"Was that really okay?" Sakura could not help shivering. "Naruto, you've always been looked at like that..."

She did not continue, stopping herself mid-sentence.

"Yeah, it's fine." Naruto did not seem to care about Sakura's words. Holding the umbrella, he looked steadily ahead.

Rainwater ran through the street beneath their feet. Midsummer was always full of rain, and the black umbrella looked especially conspicuous against the cold, empty street.

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

"I stopped caring about them a long time ago. It might be harsh to say this, but they really are just brainless parasites, blindly following the crowd."

"Or rather, hating me helps unite them. No one wants to be left out, right?"

Rain pattered against the black umbrella with a steady rustle.

"Forgive my bluntness, but aren't they merely alive? Wearing human skin, with their only purpose being to work and reproduce."

Listening to Naruto, Sakura did not know what to say.

After passing through the old streets, the two stopped in front of a gift shop. Naruto gestured for Sakura to go in first. Sakura did not understand and looked at him in confusion.

"If you go in with me, the owner might refuse to sell to you."

Sakura froze for a moment at that. She looked up at Naruto, then at the rain outside. After hesitating briefly, she turned and went inside first.

After waiting a while and judging that Sakura had probably finished choosing, Naruto finally entered the shop.

The owner recognized Naruto and frowned at him, but did not say anything.

Sakura was heading out at that moment, holding a gift in her arms—a cute blue stuffed doll. Naruto nodded and turned to leave.

"You're leaving without buying anything?" The owner sitting by the entrance suddenly mocked. "If you don't have money, come to my shop less often next time."

Naruto ignored him and kept walking forward.

Sakura's palm, however, felt as though it had been pricked by a needle. Her brows drew tightly together, and her fingers sank deep into the doll.

Ninja were forbidden from harming villagers of their own village. It was clearly stated in the ninja regulations. The owner obviously knew that as well, and even as he watched Naruto leave the shop, he showed no intention of holding back.

Though she had been mentally prepared, seeing such naked bullying unfold before her eyes—and seeing that the one being bullied was her own teammate—

Sakura flung the doll into the owner's arms in anger, startling him badly.

"What are you doing?!"

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

"Are you sick? Seriously!"

Sakura walked out of the gift shop and looked at Naruto, who was waiting for her beneath the eaves on the other side of the street. Pressing her lips together, she said,

"The stuff was bad, so I didn't buy anything."

"Mm." Naruto said nothing else. He opened the large black umbrella and walked into the rain.

"I'm planning to go to the Ninja Tool Shop and buy a wrist guard for Sasuke. What do you think?" Sakura forced out a smile. "I don't understand what boys like, so I asked you to come out and advise me."

"I didn't know something like this would happen, and I didn't think that far ahead. I'm sorry."

By the end, Sakura's voice had grown quieter and quieter.

"You don't need to apologize. I heard everything just now. You could have bought it," Naruto said indifferently. "I don't care at all about what those bugs say."

"Bugs?" Sakura blinked, not understanding for a moment.

"Yeah, I see those people as bugs," Naruto said. "Other than excluding me, they can't actually do anything to me."

"They have no power. They stumble through this world in ignorance, and even after I became a ninja, they still insult me as always."

"Bugs like that, whose lives and deaths make no difference, aren't worth my notice. To me, they're just Konohagakure's bugs."

The more Sakura listened, the more nervous she became. She could only hurriedly change the subject. But just as she was about to speak, a striking flash of gold swept past her eyes.

"Why are you two walking together?" Ino lifted her umbrella and looked teasingly at them from the rain.

Sakura was afraid Ino would find out that she was preparing a birthday gift for Sasuke, and even more afraid Naruto would let something slip, so she hurriedly explained.

"I asked Naruto to help me with something!"

"Hm?" Ino eyed Sakura suspiciously. "Since when did you two become so close? Close enough to ask each other for favors?"

"It's about training! Right, Naruto?" Sakura was flustered by concern, and her clumsy manner made it obvious she was lying.

"It is." Naruto nodded.

"Something about training?" Ino withdrew her gaze, and the gossipy suspicion on her face slowly faded.

She did know that the two of them had been assigned to the same class as Sasuke, and Naruto's first-place score on the graduation exam had indeed been surprising.

If Sakura was asking him about training, then it did make sense.

But there was one other thing that concerned Ino. Ever since Naruto had said in front of her that Sasuke did not like women, it had practically become her Inner Demon.

"You've been walking together for a while. So you're done asking, right?" Ino asked.

"Asking... I guess we're done," Sakura said helplessly, unable to come up with another lie.

"Then good." As she spoke, Ino shoved the umbrella in her hand into Sakura's grasp, then grabbed Naruto and ran off!

"What?" Sakura stood there, stunned.

"Borrowing him for a bit!" Ino's voice drifted back from afar. The two had already vanished from sight.