The day after the Fire Release demonstration, the air was stifling from dawn.
Clouds hung low, and the light filtering through the window paper was pale. Even the classroom's wooden floor seemed soaked through with dampness. As Che walked into the ninja academy, the lingering discomfort in his heart was made heavier by the weather. Yesterday's half-step had not caused a major scene, but that loss of balance by the white line kept replaying in his mind.
He did not like that feeling.
More precisely, he did not like showing others that he was someone who could be "pulled away" by something.
The moment that thought surfaced, he knew it was bad.
Because he knew all too well how he would try to make up for it next. He would not quietly process it. Instead, he would instinctively make everything else neater, as if answering more steadily in class or pulling back his movements faster could cover up yesterday's half-step.
Yamashiro Takuma did not have them practice today. Instead, he wrote four words directly on the blackboard: fire, chaos, injury, mistake.
"Today, we answer questions." The teacher set down the chalk. "No writing. First, use your mouths to straighten out your thoughts."
Kiyo groaned softly. "So not having to write doesn't mean it'll be easy."
Morita Yu replied, "Your mouth has class today too."
Che sat in the middle-back rows, his back straighter than usual. Looking at those four words, he had already assembled a chain of answers in his mind. When faced with fire, first assess the distance and escape route. When faced with chaos, first identify the danger and where his companions were. When faced with injury, first stop the bleeding and call for help. When faced with a mistake, first stop and admit the problem instead of