The results were not read out by the teacher.
What sounded first was the wooden clip.
The old wooden clip under the corridor was picked up by the chief examiner. Its jaws had loosened, and when they opened and shut, it made a sharp click. Children had still been whispering in the yard. Kiyo had been arguing with Morita Yu over whether rice balls counted as a second entrance when that sound caught the half-finished words "Celebrations don't care about timing" in his throat.
Everyone looked over.
The chief examiner straightened several sheets of paper and placed them on the table. Shuhei sat beside him, his pen not in his hand but his hands resting on his knees. Takuya and Mine stood by the courtyard gate, neither approaching nor backing away. The sun had already slanted toward the top of the wall. The pink lines had been trampled into a mess, their original edges impossible to make out, with only a few streaks of white chalk clinging to the cracks between the stones.
"The list of those who completed today's placement assessment," the chief examiner said.
Kiyo drew in a small breath.
Morita Yu murmured, "Breathe out."
Kiyo did as he was told, exhaling a little too dramatically. The teacher shot him a look, and he hurriedly stopped.
The names were called in registration order. As the first few passed, no one in the yard cheered. Some relaxed their shoulders. Some lowered their heads to look at their shoes. Some still stood there blankly after hearing their own names, as though their names had already fallen to the ground and they had not managed to pick them up in time.
Zhen Shu's name came in the middle.
"Uchiha Zhen Shu, completed."
Zhen Shu stood very straight, his lips pressed together.