When the Suspension Notice went up outside the Academic Affairs Room, the sun had just passed its zenith.
The Suspension Notice was small, with black lettering on white paper and its corners neatly pinned down. Its contents were brief: Teacher Mizuki's access to student records was suspended. Further notice would be issued once his supplementary explanation was complete.
Naruto stood in the corridor, studying it for a long time.
He had thought he would be happy, but when he actually saw the notice, he felt only a slight tightening in his chest. It did not feel like winning. It felt more like someone had finally let the wind that had been hidden inside the room out through the door.
Iruka emerged from the Academic Affairs Room, still carrying a stack of Dual-Signature Ledgers.
"Seen it?"
Naruto nodded.
"Then remember what it looks like," Iruka said. "When you come across something like this again, read the heading first, then the contents."
Beside him, Kiyo asked quietly, "What if the heading is scary too?"
"Then don't rush in."
"That's way too hard."
"It's useful because it's hard."
Leaning against the wall, Che suddenly felt that those words summed up everything that had happened over the past few weeks. Hard, and therefore useful. Mizuki could not draw Naruto away just by handing him a piece of paper once. He had to keep changing the setting, the wording, the guise, layer by layer. But now, every time he changed something, Iruka pinned it back to the wall, teaching the children to take another look.
The Academic Affairs Director did not stay long. He merely placed the final explanation on the first page of the ledger.
First, records required the signatures of both Iruka and Mizuno.
Second, two teachers had to be present together when