Obito twisted his neck to look over.
Under the moonlight, a little girl stood at the edge of the woods.
She held a cloth bag in her hand, her black curls swaying as she moved.
Kurenai Yuhi.
She jogged over to Might Guy, head bowed and cheeks flushed.
Then she held out the cloth bag.
"I... My mom made too much... We can't eat it all."
The same old excuse.
Guy took it and opened it.
Two rice balls, a few pieces of pickled radish, and two little dumplings.
He grinned.
"Thanks."
How many times had this happened already this month?
Guy couldn't remember.
Anyway, whenever Kurenai brought him food, she always said, "We made too much. We can't eat it all."
He didn't stand on ceremony. He picked up a rice ball and started chowing down.
After training for so long, he was starving.
Kurenai stood beside him, watching him eat in big bites. The corners of her mouth lifted, and her eyes sparkled.
It was her favorite thing to do these days.
Watching Guy eat the bento she brought him.
Obito lay on the ground, watching them, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"Hey..."
Nobody paid him any attention.
"Hey!!"
Kurenai jumped in surprise and turned to see someone still lying on the ground.
Obito propped himself up, looking utterly speechless.
"I've been lying here this whole time. Did you not even see me?"
Kurenai's face turned even redder, and she quickly took a step back.
Obito got up and leaned over to peer into the cloth bag at the rice balls, swallowing hard.
"Got any more? Give me one."
Guy pulled his hand back, moving the bag behind him.
"If you want one, go home and get it yourself."
Obito stared at him. "I only want one!"
Guy chewed his rice ball, expressionless. "No."
"You!"
"This is for me." Guy took another bite. "If you want some, train by yourself tomorrow. After you're done, get your mom to make you some too."
Obito gritted his teeth. "What a miser!"
Kurenai stood nearby, watching Guy guard his food, and couldn't help laughing.
Then, on impulse, she blurted out, "How about... next time I ask my mom to make some for you too?"
She froze as soon as the words left her mouth.
Obito froze too.
Kurenai realized she'd let the truth slip, and her face turned bright red all the way to her ears.
"N-no! I mean... next time I... next time my mom makes too much..."
She stammered, unable to get the words out properly, both hands waving in front of her.
Guy finished his last bite of rice ball and dusted off his hands.
"Sure. Bring a little extra next time so he can have some too."
He said it as casually as if he were commenting on the nice weather.
Kurenai stared at him for a moment, then looked up.
Guy had already stood up and was brushing the dirt off his pants. He turned to Obito.
"Aren't you going home? It's dark already."
Obito finally came back to himself and curled his lip.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going. But first, get away from me. What's that smell on you?"
Guy lowered his head and sniffed himself.
Sweat, dirt, and the rancid smell of the black sludge he'd just expelled.
He really didn't smell very good.
Before he could say anything, Kurenai spoke up first.
"That's the smell of a real man!"
Her expression was completely serious.
Obito's mouth fell open. He looked at Kurenai, then at Guy.
Kurenai realized what she'd just said. Her face reddened again, but this time she didn't lower her head. She just stood there.
Obito clutched his jaw as if his teeth were aching.
"Fine, fine. Real men. You're both real men. I'm leaving."
He turned and walked away, then glanced back after two steps.
"Bushy Brows, see you at school tomorrow!"
Then he ran off and disappeared.
Guy turned to Kurenai. "Come on, I'll walk you home."
Kurenai shook her head. "No need. I can get back on my own."
Guy thought for a moment. "Then you go on ahead. I'm going to rinse off at the waterfall, then train a little longer."
Kurenai blinked. "You still have to train?"
"Yeah. I haven't reached today's goal yet." Guy flexed his fingers.
Kurenai looked at his hands.
His fingers were swollen, and there were scabs of blood in the spaces beneath his nails.
She wanted to say something, but swallowed the words.
"Then I'll get going."
She picked up the empty cloth bag and turned to leave.
After a few steps, she looked back.
Guy was still standing where he'd been, waving at her.
Kurenai waved back too, then jogged off and disappeared into the woods.
Guy turned and headed toward the waterfall.
The sound of the water grew louder.
He took off his clothes and stood beneath the waterfall, cold water pouring from head to toe.
Refreshing.
Yijin Jing circulated through his body. The cold water and the warm current clashed, making him feel as if he were burning and freezing at the same time.
He held a horse stance and jabbed at the rock in front of him again and again.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
[Vajra Finger proficiency: 493]
"Only seven thousand more!"
"Keep jabbing."
The next day.
Ninja Academy.
Might Guy pushed open the door and sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the classroom.
Nobody was talking.
The few who usually clustered together to chat were sitting quietly in their seats.
Most of the class had turned to look at Kakashi, who was sitting by the window.
Kakashi still looked the same as always, staring out the window without moving.
But Guy noticed that Kakashi's eyes, visible above his mask, were a little red.
Guy's heart gave a sudden lurch.
He hurried to his seat, put down his schoolbag, and poked Obito in front of him.
"What happened?"
Obito turned around and lowered his voice.
"You haven't heard? White Fang-senpai—Kakashi's dad..."
He paused, his expression complicated.
"Failed a mission."
Guy's mind buzzed.
"I heard it was a really important mission. He was supposed to complete it, but White Fang-senpai gave it up to save his comrades."
Obito lowered his voice even further.
"Everyone in the village is saying he brought shame on Konoha. They say he doesn't deserve to be a ninja..."
Guy said nothing.
He looked at Kakashi's back.
That small, motionless back.
This was the incident from the original story.
Before long, White Fang would kill himself.
Watching Kakashi's back, Guy clenched his fists.
This time, he would do something.