Three-Person Formation by the Sink

The sink was the place most likely to cause trouble in a familiar routine.

Not because the sink was dangerous, but because it was too ordinary.

Ordinary places made people let down their guard most easily, and made children forget the rules most easily. Washing hands, fetching water, lining up, making way—none of these sounded like ninja training, yet they revealed more clearly than throwing shuriken whether someone knew how to squeeze in, how to snatch, or how to treat the people beside them like air.

Yamashiro Takuma led the second group to the sink and had everyone form two lines first.

"Three people step forward at a time," he said. "One fetches water, one waits, and one watches the surroundings. When switching positions, you must not bump into the teams beside you."

After hearing that, Kiyo immediately asked in a low voice, "Why do we need a formation just to fetch water?"

Che said, "Because you once proved that even a bucket has battlefield potential."

Kiyo did not want to admit it, but the historical evidence was against him.

The first group of three Konoha children stepped forward, and their movements were fairly smooth. Then came Morita Yu, Kiyo, and Saori in the second group. Yamashiro Takuma assigned Morita Yu to fetch water, Kiyo to wait, and Saori to observe.

The moment Kiyo heard that he could not move first, that look appeared on his face again—the look of someone who had been struck with perfect accuracy by the rules.

Morita Yu dipped the ladle into the sink. He was steadier than Kiyo, but he was a little hasty when pouring. The stream struck the bottom of the bucket, splashing up several droplets. Kiyo immediately jumped backward.

"Did the water attack you?" Morita Yu asked.

Kiyo looked at the hem of his pants. "It has a record."

Saori stood to one side, her gaze not fixed solely on the water. She watched the line behind them, the wet marks on the ground, and the small stone behind Morita Yu's foot. Suddenly, she said, "Behind your right foot."

Morita Yu looked down, saw the stone, and shifted half a step. When he set down the bucket, he did not trip over it.

Yamashiro Takuma nodded. "An observer is not there to stand around daydreaming. Good."

Saori lowered her head, and her bell gave a soft chime.

When it was Che's turn, he was grouped with Keisuke and another Konoha girl. The girl was named Rina. Earlier, when Morita Yu had spoken quietly, she had turned to look at Che with wariness in her eyes. Now she stood in the waiting position, her fingers clutching her sleeve.

Keisuke was responsible for fetching water.

The arrangement seemed deliberate.

An older Uchiha child dissatisfied with mixed groups, a wary Konoha girl, and Che, who was always judged to be observant. Yamashiro Takuma stood not far away, and Mine had not taken her eyes off them either.

Che was responsible for watching the surroundings.

Keisuke dipped the ladle into the sink with stiff movements. The ladle struck the side of the basin with a dull thud. Rina's shoulders flinched. Keisuke saw it, and his expression turned even colder, as if that flinch had been an insult to him.

If Che told him to be gentler, Keisuke would think he was siding with the Konoha girl. If he said nothing, the ladle might strike the basin again, and the formation would become even tenser.

He thought for half a breath.

"There's a crack on the right side of the basin," Che said. "The ladle will make a noise if it hits there."

He did not blame Keisuke or say that Rina was scared. He simply placed the problem on the sink.

Keisuke glanced at him, then looked at the right side of the basin. There really was a shallow crack there. The second time he scooped water, he avoided that spot, and the sound was much softer.

Rina's shoulders did not flinch again.

Yamashiro Takuma made a note.

Che did not relax much. He knew he had only avoided the immediate flashpoint, not put out the fire. Keisuke was still dissatisfied, Rina was still wary, and he was still using words to shift the conflict onto an object. But this time, at least, the group kept moving.

When they switched positions, Rina was supposed to step forward to fetch water. Her steps were too small, and Keisuke moved back too slowly. The two nearly collided. Che instinctively wanted to reach out and steady her, but then he remembered the infirmary rule: do not touch people carelessly; speak first.

"Stop," he said.

His voice was not loud, but it was clear.

Rina stopped, and Keisuke stopped too.

Che pointed at the wet marks on the ground. "Let the person fetching water get steady first, then switch."

Yamashiro Takuma said, "Do as he says."

Keisuke's expression darkened, but he stepped back half a pace. Rina's hands still trembled a little as she fetched water, but she did not spill any. After setting down the bucket, she said softly, "Thank you."

Che did not immediately say, "You're welcome." He was afraid that responding too quickly and politely might feel like control too.

So he nodded. "You stopped quickly just now."

Rina looked up at him. The wariness in her eyes had not disappeared, but it had lost a little of its edge.

Kiyo saw this from behind and asked in a low voice when they returned to the line, "Who were you helping just now?"

Che thought for a moment. "Helping the bucket survive."

Kiyo frowned. "Your answers are getting more and more like Teacher Mine's lately."

"That's the price of growing up."

After the sink training ended, Yamashiro Takuma summarized, "Many conflicts at the ninja academy do not begin with ninjutsu. They begin with lining up, fighting for space, and misunderstanding a single movement. You did not do beautifully today, but most of you knew when to stop."

Most of them.

Che noticed that wording. It did not praise everyone, nor did it condemn any one person. Yamashiro Takuma always left a little room in his records. That made Che wary, but he had to admit it was useful.

As they left the sink, Keisuke walked up beside Che and said in a low voice, "You're very good with words."

It did not sound like praise.

Che looked ahead without turning around. "I'm learning how to say fewer wrong things."

Keisuke sneered. "Do you have to learn even when talking to them?"

Che paused for half a breath before finally turning his head. "You have to learn when talking to anyone. Even your own clan."

Keisuke's gaze darkened.

Kiyo immediately grew tense beside them. Saori's bell gave a soft chime. Che knew his words had been a little hard, but he did not take them back. Not every matter could be redirected onto a sink. Some boundaries had to be spoken aloud.

Keisuke did not continue. He simply walked past him.

This was not reconciliation.

But Che wrote in his notes:

"Three-person formation by the sink: the observer must watch objects, but also people. Conflict can be avoided, but not forever. Keisuke's dissatisfaction has deepened. Pay attention going forward."

The sink was ordinary.

Ordinary places could still leave behind sparks.

The sink training did not end just because Keisuke had walked away.

Yamashiro Takuma had them line up again and switch to another group. This time, Kiyo, Rina, and Che were placed together. Kiyo was responsible for fetching water, Rina waited, and Che observed.

Kiyo was clearly more serious than before. He held the ladle with both hands as if he were gripping a temperamental ninja tool. The surface of the water rippled in a circle from his stirring, and he stopped first, waiting until the water settled a little before scooping.

Rina saw that movement, and something in her gaze shifted slightly.

"Weren't you in a big hurry just now?" she asked.

Kiyo's ears reddened. "I can improve too."

Che said from beside him, "That line can go in the practice sheet."

Kiyo glared at him. "Don't write down everything."

Rina could not help laughing. It was brief, but it no longer carried the wariness it had before. Kiyo poured the water into the bucket. Though he splashed a little, it did not go beyond the wet line on the ground. Che reminded him, "Someone's on the left."

Kiyo immediately pulled the bucket half an inch to the right.

When Rina switched into position, the tip of her shoe stopped again at the edge of the wet mark. She did not flinch like before. Instead, she looked at Che first. Che did not move for her, only said, "It's slippery there. Take half a step slower."

She nodded and stepped forward half a beat more slowly. The ladle did not strike the side of the basin.

Yamashiro Takuma wrote, "Can heed reminders and adjust."

Those words were not only for Rina, but for all three people in their group.

After training ended, Rina walked up to Saori. She hesitated for a long time before asking, "Will your bell affect training?"

Saori hugged her doll and did not answer immediately.

Che instinctively wanted to shield her from the question, but then he remembered Mine saying that not every question had to be answered. He also remembered that Saori needed to let others get to know her slowly. So he merely stood beside her without interrupting.

Saori touched the cloth around her bell. "Sometimes. If it rings too loudly, I cover it. When I need to hear it, I loosen it a little."

Rina nodded. "Oh."

She did not ask any further questions.

Kiyo leaned close to Che and whispered, "You actually didn't speak for her just now."

Che looked at the small stretch of quiet space between Saori and Rina. "I'm learning to keep my mouth shut."

Kiyo gave a serious assessment. "That technique is difficult."

It really was difficult.

Harder than shouting stop beside the sink.

As they returned to the end of the line, Saori looked at Che, then in the direction Keisuke had gone.

"He heard that just now," she said.

"Mm," Che replied.

"You were a little hard too."

Che did not argue.

This time, he had indeed been a little hard. Not every conflict could be shifted onto a crack in the sink, a short table leg, or route management. Keisuke's question—"Do you have to learn even when talking to them?"—had already pushed the matter away from the sink and back onto people. If Che kept avoiding it, Kiyo would hear yielding, Rina would hear evasion, and Keisuke would hear tacit agreement.

He had stated a boundary.

The price was that Keisuke's dissatisfaction had become clearer.

Che made a note of it in his mind: some sparks could not be stamped out. All he could do was mark their location first.