A Half-Step at the Side Courtyard Entrance

The entrance to the ninja academy's side courtyard was noisier than it had been on assessment day.

During the assessment, the children had been pinned down by nerves, their voices seeming to circle the rim of a bowl of water. On this day, when they were familiarizing themselves with the process, the nerves remained, but excitement had been layered over them. Konoha children, Uchiha children, several teachers leading them, and parents peering in from outside were all packed together. The trampled-hard patch of ground at the entrance looked like a sheet of paper folded over and over, covered everywhere in footprints.

Kiyo stood beside Che, trying hard to look mature.

The effort lasted less than half a breath.

"Where's Morita Yu?" he asked.

Che looked toward the crowd. "What do you need him for?"

"To confirm that our group member exists."

"You've gotten very practiced at confirming people exist lately."

Saori held her doll in her arms, its bell wrapped in cloth. The sound was not muffled, but it was not piercing either. She was not looking for Morita Yu. Instead, she studied the wooden posts on either side of the side courtyard gate. There were old scratches on them, probably secretly carved by students with shuriken tips while standing in line. The academy teachers had not sanded them all away, only shaved down the deeper marks.

When Che saw those scratches, an odd feeling suddenly rose in him.

This was not a passing backdrop from old memories, nor was it merely a symbol of a future where Naruto leaned out a window, Shikamaru yawned, and Ino argued with Sakura. There were wooden posts here, old marks, the smell of sweat, dust, and a crowd of children who had already learned to size one another up before even officially enrolling.

Mine stood at the front of the group, holding the list for the second group.

"Today, we're only familiarizing ourselves with the route," she said. "The classrooms, training ground, washbasin, infirmary, and assembly point. No tests, no sparring, no chances for last-minute performances."

As she spoke the last sentence, her gaze swept over several children before settling between Che and Kiyo.

Kiyo immediately whispered, "Why was she looking at us?"

Che said, "Maybe because we stand out."

"What kind of presence is that?"

"The kind that gets special attention."

Kiyo did not particularly like that answer.

Morita Yu ran over from the other side, his cuffs slightly wet as though he had just washed his hands. When he saw Che, he paused, then noticed Kiyo and nodded. "You're here."

Kiyo said solemnly, "Confirming that you exist too."

Morita Yu froze, then turned to Che. "Is that how you Uchiha greet people?"

Che sighed. "No. That's Kiyo's personal school of thought."

The group began moving inside.

The threshold to the side courtyard was not high, but it seemed narrow with so many people passing through. Two Konoha children squeezed in side by side, and an older Uchiha child followed close behind, his shoulder nearly striking someone beside him. The child turned to look, but did not apologize. The air immediately grew a little taut.

Kiyo wanted to rush ahead too. Just as he lifted his foot, Che reached out and pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"Half a step," Che said quietly.

Kiyo frowned. "I haven't bumped into anyone."

"If you wait until you do, it'll be too late."

Morita Yu heard him and slowed by half a step as well. He turned sideways to let Saori pass first. Saori lowered her head and thanked him, and her bell gave a soft chime.

The light inside the gate was a little dimmer than outside. When Che stepped over the threshold, his foot naturally paused for half a breath to confirm the level of the ground. That motion came from the half-step of the Substitution Technique, and from training on wooden posts. Basic training was inconspicuous, yet it surfaced on its own at places like thresholds.

Mine saw it but said nothing.

The first stop was the classroom.

The side courtyard classroom was larger than the Uchiha temporary classroom, with old maps and diagrams of ninja tools hanging on the walls. The desks were not new, their corners worn round by many children. Kiyo touched a desktop as if confirming it would not bite him.

Morita Yu sat in another row and turned back to ask, "Did your temporary classes have this many desks too?"

"No," Kiyo said. "Our desks have more personality."

Che added, "Some of that personality is short legs."

Morita Yu laughed.

The moment that laugh came out, an older Uchiha child in the back row said coldly, "What are you laughing at?"

The classroom instantly quieted.

The smile faded slightly from Morita Yu's face. Kiyo turned, about to speak, but Che caught his cuff. This time, not his shoulder, but his sleeve. Kiyo looked down, understood, and forcibly swallowed his words.

Mine did not speak immediately.

Yamashiro Takuma stood by the door, watching the scene. He did not step in right away either.

Che knew what the teachers were observing: whether the children could suppress this first layer of minor friction on their own.

He looked at the older child. His name was Keisuke. He was a year and a half older than them, had run well during the assessment, and was solid at reading and writing, but he had been dissatisfied with the mixed grouping these past few days. If Che replied, "Do you need permission to laugh too?" the situation would immediately become a question of whether the Uchiha were siding with Konoha children or not.

So he did not address Keisuke.

Instead, he turned to Morita Yu. "If our desk laughed, it'd probably be because it finally didn't have to stand anymore."

Kiyo blinked, then immediately added, "Right. Its legs are short, so standing is hard on it."

Morita Yu looked at them and laughed again a beat later.

Keisuke's expression was not good, but the remark had not confronted him directly, so he could not find an opening to continue. Only then did Mine speak. "Remember where the desks and chairs are in the classroom. You are not here to make up life stories for the desks."

Kiyo whispered, "But it already has quite a life story."

Che nearly laughed out loud.

The classroom tour continued.

Che memorized the doors, windows, where the teacher would stand, the water bucket's position, and the distance to the back door. He did not write any of it down, nor did he make it too obvious. But he knew he was once again breaking the space down into routes. The difference was that this time, he was not only memorizing escape routes. He also noted where Kiyo sat, how far Saori was from the door, and whether Morita Yu would block someone when he turned around.

Routes were not only for running away.

They could also tell you how not to bump into the person beside you.

As they left the classroom, Morita Yu came over to Che's side and said quietly, "Thanks for earlier."

"I didn't help you win an argument."

"I know," Morita Yu said. "That's why I'm thanking you."

Che glanced at him.

That sentence was clearer than half an apology. Morita Yu did not fail to understand conflict. He was simply learning how not to let conflict grow.

Before heading toward the training ground, Mine had the group stop.

"At the entrance and in the classroom, some of you were too quick, some were too stubborn, and some held themselves back," she said. "Familiarizing yourselves with the process is not about seeing who is better. It is about seeing who can keep the group moving."

Kiyo whispered, "So did we keep moving?"

Che looked toward the sunlight on the training ground ahead. "At least the desk didn't stop us."

Saori's bell chimed softly.

That half-step at the side courtyard gate did not turn them into friends.

But it let the group move on to the next place.

The training ground was the second stop.

Sunlight fell across the ground, white enough to sting the eyes. It was more open than the side courtyard classroom, and as soon as the children came out, the formation immediately loosened. Kiyo seemed like he had just been released from a narrow gate. His steps sped up by two beats, and he nearly crossed the assembly line Mine had drawn on the ground.

"The line," Che reminded him.

Kiyo looked down. His toes stopped before the line, and his expression looked as if he had just pulled himself back from a cliff edge.

"Do your temporary classes have this many lines too?" Morita Yu asked with a laugh.

"The lines over there are fiercer," Kiyo said. "If you step over them, Uncle Jian will look at you."

"What's wrong with him looking at you?"

Kiyo said seriously, "You don't understand. Some looks weigh more than losing points."

Mine had them stand in groups of three at different positions, simulating future assemblies on the training ground. Che, Kiyo, and Saori formed one group. Morita Yu, Rina, and another Konoha child stood nearby. Keisuke stood farther away, his eyes constantly sweeping their direction.

The wind on the training ground was stronger than at the gate, continually distorting the edges of the formation. Yamashiro Takuma did not correct them right away, letting them observe for themselves. The wind pushed Kiyo half a step to the left, and he nearly bumped into Saori. Saori did not move too far away. She only said softly, "I'm here."

Kiyo immediately drew back his foot. "Sorry."

The apology was quiet, but it was more useful than many loud promises.

Che noticed Morita Yu watching as well. He suddenly realized that familiarizing themselves with the group process was not just about them observing the Konoha children. The others were also observing how Uchiha children apologized, how they stopped, and how they made room for those beside them.

Mine said, "An assembly point is not about who stands the straightest. It is about knowing that there are people beside you. If a formation gets messy, a teacher can arrange it again. If a battlefield gets messy, no one will have time to rearrange you."

The word battlefield made the children fall silent for a moment.

Che pressed those words into his heart. They had not even officially enrolled yet, but the ninja world would not speak more gently about danger just because they were young. Familiarizing themselves with the process meant hiding many small movements that might save their lives someday within lining up, yielding the way, and standing at a line.

Before leaving the training ground, Morita Yu came over and quietly asked, "Why were you watching Keisuke the whole time?"

Che did not deny it. "He's been watching us."

"Are you afraid he'll cause trouble?"

"I am, but that's not all," Che said. "He's like a taut string. A taut string will not necessarily snap, but the people around it should not pluck it carelessly."

Morita Yu thought for a moment. "You really do speak in circles."

Che sighed. "That's the second time I've received that assessment today."

Morita Yu smiled, then looked toward Keisuke. "Does he hate us?"

Che did not make a judgment for Keisuke. "He hates being looked down on more."

After saying that, Che himself found the feeling familiar. The fear of being looked down on, of being recorded, of being pushed by fate into a certain position. The source of many people's fires was nothing unusual. Only the direction in which they burned differed.

As the group walked from the training ground toward the side courtyard corridor, the wind gently swayed an old wooden sign hanging by the gate. Mine had the children keep right and avoid crowding the medicine delivery rack outside the infirmary. The two Konoha children in front stopped too suddenly, throwing the people behind them into disarray. Rina was squeezed against a doorpost, and the back of her hand scraped against a wooden splinter that had not been fully shaved down.

She drew in a breath and immediately hid her hand in her sleeve.

Che saw it. Saori saw it too. Kiyo did not; he was still staring at Keisuke's shoulder as though that taut string might snap back at any moment.

Che stopped first. "The back of your hand."

Mine turned around. Rina's face had gone a little pale, but she still tried to pull her cuff lower. Morita Yu said quietly, "She got scraped."

Keisuke frowned. "Do we need to stop for this too?"

Che did not respond to him. He only looked at Mine. "Wood splinter on the doorpost. Just now. Back of her hand."

Mine came over and had Rina hold out her hand. The red mark was not long, but a little blood seeped from it. Only then did Kiyo fall silent, and even Keisuke said nothing more.

Yamashiro Takuma came over from the other end of the corridor. He looked at the doorpost, then at the group.

"To the infirmary first," he said.

The next stop in familiarizing themselves with the process was not announced from the list. It was opened by that short red mark. As Che followed them, he looked once more at the splinter by the doorpost. Half a step had let them enter the gate, but it did not guarantee that no one would be scratched by its edge.