Sasuke pushed himself up against the stone pillar, and rubble pattered down from his back.
He looked at Sakura, panting at the edge of the training ground, and brushed the dust off his shoulder.
"What are you doing here?"
White Dog glanced at Sasuke, then turned back to look at Sakura.
"How do you think she got here? She sneaked after you, same as that short blondie."
Sakura choked on White Dog's words and clenched her fists.
But she kept her eyes fixed on Sasuke, ignoring White Dog's teasing.
"Sasuke-kun, your injuries—"
"They're my problem. No need for anyone else to worry about them." Sasuke looked away from Sakura and bent down to pick up the kunai on the ground.
He slipped the kunai back into the tool pouch strapped to his thigh. The bite on his left arm made him move a little slower.
"It'll be dark soon, and the roads around here aren't easy to walk." Sasuke headed for the edge of the training ground. "I'll walk you home."
"I'm not a little kid anymore." Sakura lowered her head, her pink bangs hiding her eyes.
"I know Sasuke-kun is strong."
Her knuckles dug into her palms, leaving several white marks. She lifted her head, anger in her green eyes, but even more frustration.
"I don't want to stay behind and watch. I don't want to be treated like a burden."
White Dog cocked one ear. "Oh? The Big Forehead can actually say something serious."
"Cut it out." Sasuke pressed a hand to White Dog's head and pushed it down toward the ground.
He watched Sakura for a moment, then withdrew his hand and slipped it into his pocket.
"Do you want to get stronger?"
"Yes." Sakura's voice no longer had that forced firmness, but it hadn't softened, either.
"Is it because of me?" Sasuke looked at her.
Sakura froze. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
Sasuke turned and walked a few steps ahead.
"Everyone has their own goals. You don't need to set yours around someone else."
Sakura clenched her back teeth. "But Sasuke-kun, you're pushing yourself so hard, too. Why can't I?"
Sasuke's gaze passed over the ruined wall at the edge of the training ground and settled on the distant site of the Uchiha Compound, already cleared away.
"I'm not saying you can't. I just want you to think carefully about what you really want."
"To have teachers and classmates, people you can talk to normally, and a place where you can grow up in peace."
Sasuke's voice was faint, as if he were talking to himself.
"That's already a luxury."
Sakura parted her lips.
She thought Sasuke was talking about the Uchiha Clan.
But she didn't know that the image in his mind wasn't this field of ruins. It was a white-haired man.
Standing behind him, Sakura moved her lips, then swallowed the words she'd been about to say.
Sasuke didn't look back. He kept walking.
"If you want to get stronger, be practical."
"Make use of everything you have. Don't aim too high and overlook what's right in front of you."
White Dog followed at Sasuke's feet and glanced back at Sakura, still standing where she was.
"Hey, aren't you coming?"
Black Dog waited at Sakura's side for her to start moving.
Sakura lowered her head. The crunch of her footsteps over the gravel began to sound behind Sasuke.
By the time they left the Uchiha Compound, it was already mostly dark.
Lanterns were beginning to glow along the shopping street, and several izakaya had noren curtains hanging over their entrances.
Sasuke walked on Sakura's left, with the two dogs following one behind the other.
Sakura's home was on the north side of the shopping street, a two-story house with several potted plants by the front door.
Sasuke stopped outside the gate.
"We're here."
Sakura opened the gate and walked up to the entrance.
When she turned around, Sasuke had already turned away and walked a few steps.
"Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke stopped and glanced back at her.
"See you at school tomorrow." Sakura's voice held a faint, nasal catch. Her face was hard to make out in the shadow beneath the eaves.
Sasuke gave a small nod and continued on his way.
White Dog glanced back and waited until Sakura had closed the door before speaking.
"Aw, young love. I really think she likes you."
"She's too young to know what liking someone means."
"That's hard to say. Those feelings take root when you're young. For example, the way you feel about Tsumiki..."
"Keep it up, and I'll beat you half to death and send you back into the shadows."
The next day.
As Sakura walked into the classroom, Ino happened to be getting up from her seat.
She had already prepared to say, "Big Forehead, you're really late today," but when she got a good look at Sakura, she held the words back.
Sakura's shoulder-length hair was tied into a simple ponytail with a red ribbon, and the loose strands were tucked behind her ears.
She went to her seat, pulled out a neatly folded training-ground reservation form, spread it on her desk, and started filling it out.
"Hey... Sakura, what's up with you today?" Ino walked over and rested a hand on the corner of her desk.
"Nothing." Sakura kept writing on the form. "I just feel like I wasted too much time before."
She filled in the last box, set down her pen, and looked up at Ino.
"Ino, do you want to go to the training ground this afternoon?"
"Huh? Yeah, sure."
At the same time, a sudden commotion broke out at the back of the classroom.
"Naruto! Your Three-Body Technique hasn't improved at all!"
Kiba straddled his chair, one arm draped over the backrest, and laughed with abandon.
"During yesterday's Transformation Technique test, you transformed into Iruka-sensei, but even got the hair color wrong! Hahahaha—"
Naruto planted his hands on his hips, the veins in his forehead twitching.
"Mind your own business! I've made tons of progress lately! I can hit the target with shuriken now! Three times!"
"Yeah, yeah. All three hit someone else's target." Kiba rolled his eyes.
Naruto didn't argue. Instead, he bent down, grabbed a bundle of black fur from beneath his seat, and hugged it to his chest.
Black Dog had been abruptly scooped up, its legs dangling in front of Naruto, its face plainly asking what he was up to now.
"Hmph! Of course I'm working so hard because—" Naruto lifted Black Dog up in front of Kiba. "I want Black to think I'm amazing!"
Black Dog lightly flicked Naruto's wrist with its tail.
"Put me down."
"No! You're my teammate! You have to watch me become Hokage!"
"I'm not your teammate."
Kiba looked at Naruto with disdain and slapped the back of his chair. "That's Sasuke's dog! Since when did it become your teammate?"
But he soon switched to an admiring expression. "Naruto, you're annoying, but I get you! I want Akamaru to think I'm amazing, too!"
Akamaru poked his head out of Kiba's hoodie collar. "Woof!"
Several girls in the front row turned around at the noise.
"Are Naruto and Sasuke-kun's Ninja Dogs close? What's he going on about now..." A girl with twin ponytails nudged the girl beside her.
"Don't they live next door to each other? I heard they get along pretty well."
"No way. Would someone like Sasuke-kun even bother with Naruto?"
White Dog had been lying on Sasuke's desk, but at the commotion, it lifted its head.
The tip of its tail stuck straight up, and its mouth stretched into a grin.
"Sasuke doesn't practice with him. That blondie just shamelessly tagged along."
"What do you mean, shamelessly?" Naruto put Black Dog down and thumped his chest in White Dog's direction. "Sasuke agreed to it, too!"
The classroom chatter grew louder and louder.
Ino looked at Naruto, puzzled.
"Sasuke-kun practices shuriken with Naruto...?"
A ponytailed figure came over from the side and stopped beside Sasuke.
"Sasuke-kun, can I come to the training ground this afternoon?"
Sasuke glanced sideways at Sakura, then nodded.
"Do what you want."
White Dog wagged its tail in confusion. "What's gotten into everyone today? Did they all suddenly come to their senses?"
Iruka walked into the classroom just as the first bell rang.
"Today, we'll have our usual group sparring exercise, but before that, I have an announcement."
Iruka looked around the classroom.
"The day after tomorrow, we'll have an outdoor survival exercise. This time, we'll train at the practice ground outside the village. The groups will stay the same. After school tomorrow, I'll take everyone there to get familiar with the terrain."
A wave of restrained excitement swept through the classroom.
Kiba nudged Shikamaru with his elbow. "Outdoor training! We finally get to leave school!"
Shikamaru sprawled lazily across his desk. "What a drag. It's just training somewhere else. What's there to be excited about?"
"Naruto!" Iruka raised his voice. "Don't think you can slack off just because we're in the woods. I'll be keeping a close eye on you!"
"I'm not going to slack off!" Naruto clasped his hands behind his head and grinned, showing all his white teeth.
"I'll be better than everyone else in the woods! I grew up in the woods, after all—"
"All right, all right." Iruka cut him off and opened the attendance book. "Let's get started. Turn to page thirty-seven of your Ninja Basics textbook."
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