The noon bell was more chaotic than the bell after the morning's last class.
The children of Class One seemed as if someone had loosened all their strings at once. Chairs scraped, backpacks banged against desk corners, some shouted about rice balls, and others yelled, "Don't step on my foot!" Naruto was the fastest one out, but after taking two steps, he rushed back and reached into his desk to feel around for that broken bit of pencil lead.
After feeling around twice without finding it, his expression immediately tightened.
Che stood beside him, stuffing his notebook into his backpack without reminding him.
Kiyo saw it and asked softly, "Did he lose that tough little thing?"
"It might be in the corner of his desk."
"Then why didn't you tell him?"
"He put it there himself."
Kiyo thought about it and actually nodded. "That makes sense. If my shoelaces hid themselves, I'd have to find them myself too."
After saying that, he immediately looked down at his shoes. His shoelaces were still there. The knot had twisted into another shape, but it had not come undone. Kiyo looked quite pleased with it, as though he had found an ugly but dependable teammate.
Naruto finally fished that bit of pencil lead out of his desk, smudging his fingers black in the process. He looked as happy as if he had recovered something precious. He turned, about to tell someone, and happened to meet Iruka's gaze.
Iruka said, "Wash your hands first."
Naruto hid his hands behind his back. "They're not dirty."
Shikamaru passed by with his eyes half-open. "Your fingers have already surrendered."
Naruto looked down and saw a black smudge on his fingertips. Muttering, he ran toward the sink, then turned back at the door and shouted at Che, "Are