Pity for Those in the Same Boat

The noisy classroom quieted down. Soseki stepped forward, observed for a moment, then formed hand seals. His hands, glowing with a faint, ethereal light, were placed on Hanako's forehead.

Seeing this, everyone held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Before long, Hanako's furrowed brow, which had been clenched in unconsciousness, relaxed. Then, under everyone's expectant gazes, she slowly woke up.

"Wow! Hanako's alive!"

"That's great, I knew the Class Leader could do it!"

"Is this the Tranquility Technique? After only a few days, Soseki has mastered another Medical Ninjutsu!" Beside them, Asuma's large eyes were filled with confusion. "Didn't they say Medical Ninjutsu and Illusion Arts are the hardest to master?"

Soseki didn't bask in the cheers of the crowd. Instead, he turned and walked towards Yui and Kaoru, administering the Tranquility Technique to both of them. The two forgotten little girls were deeply touched.

"Asuma, Ibiki, you two come help me too. Help me take them to the hospital together." Although he wasn't sure if Asuma would still walk the path of his original destiny, Soseki decided to proactively call Asuma over to prevent him from disrupting his plans.

"Oh, oh, coming." Asuma had no idea about Soseki's dark thoughts. After snapping out of his daze, he rushed forward, taking two steps at a time, and said dejectedly, "You guy, you learned Ninjutsu behind my back again. Damn it, if I don't hurry, even the number of Ninjutsu I've learned will be surpassed by you!"

Before Soseki could reply, Ibiki's voice drifted over from the side, "No need to struggle, you'll be surpassed sooner or later."

"Damn it, even you're looking down on me..." However, before Asuma could vent, something even more frustrating happened.

Yui stared at him warily and defensively, then stepped back and said, "No need, I can walk myself."

Seeing her retreat a couple of steps, Asuma was completely flustered.

"Heh, you're here to make a joke..." Ibiki was coldly mocking him from the side when he heard Kaoru, whom he was supporting, whisper, "Mmm, why wasn't I the one who fainted? I'm so envious of Hanako!"

Ibiki stiffened and looked at Asuma. A sense of shared misfortune flashed in their eyes for some reason.

By the time they finished dealing with matters at the hospital, it was already afternoon.

Soseki returned to the classroom, and everyone swarmed around him again to ask about the situation.

"Don't worry, they're fine now," Soseki reassured them with a smile.

"If Soseki says so, then I'm relieved."

"Haha, today I inexplicably felt the thrill of being a real ninja."

Everyone was happily frolicking, but amidst the clamor and excitement, a somewhat lonely figure was slumped asleep at their seat.

Soseki walked towards that figure. "Kurenai, are you alright?"

Kurenai didn't speak, only shaking her head slightly where her face was buried in her arms.

"I know, you're blaming yourself, right?"

Kurenai remained silent, enclosed in her own world.

Soseki was not surprised. He gently comforted her, "Actually, you didn't do anything wrong. If it were me, I would have made the same choice as you."

Hearing Soseki's words, which were so different from everyone else's, Kurenai timidly raised her head. "But I almost killed Yui! I, I never want to use Illusion Arts again."

"Using Illusion Arts to protect yourself is certainly not wrong. What's wrong is using Illusion Arts on your comrades."

"As expected, I still..." Hearing this, Kurenai lowered her head dejectedly again.

"No, it's my fault! As the Class Leader, I failed to notice and mediate your conflicts in time, causing you, who should have been comrades, to become adversaries. So, you and Hanako are not wrong, only I am truly at fault!"

"Ah? No, no!" Kurenai shook her head abruptly. "How can you be wrong? It's clearly..."

Before Kurenai could finish, Soseki walked directly to the podium. "Everyone, can you listen to me for a moment?"

Hearing Soseki's voice, everyone in the classroom fell silent.

"Today, some unpleasant things happened in our class, but please don't blame Hanako or Kurenai. It was my failure as the Class Leader. If I had paid attention to everyone, this kind of thing would never have happened. I'm sorry for causing trouble for everyone!"

"Ah? That's not true!"

"Hmph! Class Leader, you think too little of us!"

"Exactly, we didn't do anything. It was you, Class Leader, who was busy running around alone."

Asuma, Ibiki: "???"

"Then I was being overly dramatic." Soseki smiled brightly, his sincere gaze sweeping over everyone. "We are all ninjas. When we carry out missions in the future, the only ones we can rely on are our companions beside us. Therefore, I hope that each of us can become each other's support, and each of us can become each other's bonds! Can we? I want to be friends with all of you forever!"

"Of course! We will always be friends!"

"We definitely can!"

"Soseki, how are Hanako and the others..." Yagami Kei suddenly pushed open the door, then was startled by the fervent atmosphere in the classroom, his legs trembling. He asked sheepishly, "Uh, you guys continue?"

After school, Soseki was tidying his small schoolbag when suddenly, a small hand tugged at his clothes from the front.

Soseki looked up to see Kurenai, who had recovered quite a bit of her energy.

"Soseki, thank you!" Kurenai said earnestly, clenching her small fists.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Soseki sighed. "Besides, this misunderstanding was actually because of me..."

Hearing this, Kurenai interrupted indignantly, "Why do you still say that? I'm not that fragile."

"I didn't mean... Never mind, it's nothing." Soseki smiled and shook his head, then invited, "Shall we walk together then?"

"Huh?" Kurenai's eyes drifted, gazing at the ceiling. "Soseki, you go ahead. I want to stay in the classroom a bit longer."

"Hm?" Soseki looked her up and down suspiciously, resting his chin on his hand. "Come to think of it, you haven't stood up at all this afternoon."

"Don't tell me your foot is injured?" Soseki's tone grew serious.

"No, no!" Kurenai waved her hands repeatedly, but seeing Soseki's persistent gaze, she finally relented and whispered, "Yes, I accidentally sprained my ankle when they were pushing me around."

"Why didn't you say anything about this sooner?" Soseki's small face hardened. "Come on, I'll take you to the hospital now."

"No, absolutely not!" However, Kurenai's attitude was incredibly firm this time.

"Is it because of Hanako and the others?" Soseki quickly understood the root of the problem.

Kurenai puffed out her cheeks and said nothing.

"Alright, alright, I get it," Soseki sighed helplessly, squatting down to treat her.

"I'm sorry to trouble you again." Kurenai didn't harbor any strange thoughts, only feeling that Soseki's palm on her ankle was a little warm, and also… Soseki was incredibly handsome when he was treating her seriously!

Before long, Soseki finished the treatment. "Alright, stand up and try walking a few steps."

Kurenai obediently stood up and walked carefully. "Mmm, it really feels so much better."

"That's good. Let's go, I'll walk you home." As he spoke, Soseki helped gather Kurenai's schoolbag.

"I can carry it myself."

"Injured people need to listen to the doctor, you know."

"Okay. Oh, right, my dad is home today too. He's a very powerful Illusion Arts ninja!" Kurenai initiated conversation.

"Senior Shinku? I've heard people in the village talk about him. His Illusion Arts is the strongest in our Konoha!" Soseki said with "admiration."

"Heh heh, right?"