The wind stopped on the night before the evaluation.
That was rare. Over the past few days, the wind had kept slipping through window cracks, door hinges, notice papers, and the chalk lines on the training ground, like an observer unwilling to leave. But tonight, the clan compound was excessively quiet. Even the footsteps of the Konoha Police Force changing shifts were lighter than usual. The wooden signs in the distance did not sway, and the kitchen door did not creak.
Kiyo found it unsettling instead.
"If there's no wind, does that mean the problems won't get blown back?" he asked.
Morita Yu sat at the table, sorting through the papers they would bring tomorrow. "Problems can walk back on their own."
"That's even scarier."
Che flipped his workbook to the final page. Too many sheets of paper were tucked inside: Mine's note saying, "If you want to know, you can ask whether you're allowed to know," his own crumpled sheet of unanswered questions, the phase review, copied notices, records of the white lines beneath his feet, records of the paper lantern, and preparatory records for the Clone Technique. Nao had said not to keep too much, or the room would become a mess. Looking at it now, it really was a mess.
He sorted them one by one.
Some should be kept, while others should go into the box. Not every sheet needed to be brought to the evaluation. Bringing too many would be like stuffing all the wind from the past few days into his backpack.
Nao entered with hot water. Seeing the tabletop, her brow twitched slightly. "Are you moving house?"
"Organizing my equipment," Che said.
"A Ninja Academy evaluation isn't an expedition."
"Mentally, it kind of is."
Nao set down the water without exposing him. She