A page peeked through the gap in the archive room door.
It had not been left outside the door. It was caught in the gap, its edge pinned beneath the door panel, leaving only a narrow strip of white exposed. A draft swept down the corridor, and the corner trembled gently, as though someone inside had pushed it out, then let go at the last instant.
Naruto led the way, his steps so hurried they almost pounded the floor. Yet when he saw that page, he stopped.
"What's this?"
Iruka did not answer immediately. He raised a hand to stop the others and stepped forward himself. As his fingertips touched the door, a faint sound came from inside. It sounded like a drawer being knocked shut, or something being shoved deep into a cabinet.
Che stood behind Naruto, his hands still tucked into his sleeve pockets, but his gaze had already swept from the gap beneath the door to the window. The archive room had two doors: one opened onto the corridor, while the other led into a storeroom at the back. The window was not open very far, but it was wide enough for an adult to throw a document envelope outside.
"Don't all crowd the doorway," Che said quietly. "If someone wants to run, we should give him a route that looks like a way out."
Sasuke glanced at him without asking why, then shifted half a step toward the corner on the left. From there, he could see the small storeroom door perfectly.
Iruka pushed the door open.
The archive room smelled of old paper, paste, and damp wood. Rows of wooden shelves stretched from the window to the wall, crammed with student rosters, duty schedules, classroom booking forms, and stacks of old files tied with cotton