Two people were waiting at the district gate.
When Che spotted them from afar, his pace did not change, but Kiyo stopped first.
"Are those two from your family?"
"I don't have any family."
Kiyo choked on that answer, scratching at his backpack strap without daring to continue the joke. The setting sun dyed the stone pillars at the Uchiha District gate red, their shadows slanting across the road. Two clan members stood inside the gate. One was older, with the Uchiha fan crest embroidered on his cuffs. The other was younger, a short sword at his waist. His eyes swept over Che before settling on the pocket of his sleeve.
Sasuke was there too.
He stood to one side, his face colder than usual. Someone had clearly stopped him first.
Naruto had been following behind, still arguing with Kiyo about whether burning a sensing paper black counted as impressive. When he saw the scene at the district gate, his voice gradually lowered.
"What are they doing?"
Sasuke did not answer.
The older clansman spoke. "Che, Sasuke, did the Ninja Academy conduct a chakra paper preliminary test today?"
Che nodded.
"What were the results?"
Sasuke answered first. "The paper split."
The older clansman looked at Che.
Che took his hand from his sleeve pocket. It was empty.
"The edge curled."
The younger clansman's brow twitched. "Fire nature?"
"Looks like it."
"Looks like it?"
Che smiled. "The paper didn't tell me its full name."
Kiyo nearly laughed, then forcibly held it in. Naruto, however, was completely confused. He only knew that these people seemed to care more about a piece of paper than the training-ground assessment.
The older clansman did not laugh. He told Sasuke to return to the district first and hand in today's workbook at home. Sasuke did not