Changing Clothes in a Public Restroom

Asuma's eyes were red as he fought back a sob and accepted the sandals, then crouched down and slipped them onto his feet.

The sandals fit perfectly.

The soft soles wrapped around his blistered feet, instantly dulling more than half the pain.

Asuma stood up and looked down at the large dark patch on his pants before forcing himself to speak.

"By the way, Ye, do you have any spare pants...?"

Ye glanced at Asuma.

The corner of Ye's eye twitched wildly.

He fought the urge to laugh so hard he spat out his dinner, then decisively shook his head.

"I really don't."

Then Ye shoved his hands into his pockets, turned around, and strode out of the alley.

His retreating figure was crisp and decisive.

He hid his accomplishments and fame.

As he left, Ye casually stuffed the red brick into his Ninja Tools pouch. This was a fine treasure.

Asuma leaned against the wall, his face full of gratitude as he watched Ye's figure disappear into the sunset.

Asuma sniffed and sighed.

"What a good person."

He took several deep breaths, adjusted his breathing, and started walking home.

Right now, all he wanted was to go home, shut the door, and sleep.

He lifted his right foot and took his first step.

The instant his foot was about to touch the ground, the automatic detachment mechanism triggered perfectly.

The strap around the ankle of the brand-new sandal came loose.

The entire shoe seemed to grow legs and slipped right off Asuma's foot.

Asuma stepped into empty air, his bare foot landing heavily on the edge of the sole.

At the same time, some mysterious force reduced the friction between the sole and the ground to zero.

His foot slipped.

His left foot happened to catch his right foot.

Splat!

With a dull thud, Asuma pitched forward and fell flat on his face.

His chin slammed solidly into the rough bluestone pavement, filling his mouth with the taste of dirt.

Hiss!

Asuma clutched his chin and climbed to his feet, his face blank with bewilderment.

He looked back at the sandal lying quietly on the ground, grimaced as he rubbed his chin, and lowered his head in confusion to inspect the ground beneath his feet.

The ground was perfectly flat, with no stones or potholes.

"I ran too hard just now. My calf muscles are cramping so badly that I can't even walk steadily."

Asuma swiftly completed his self-reflection.

Gritting his teeth against the pain in his chin, he picked up the sandal and put it back on.

To be safe, he tied the strap tightly.

He continued walking.

One step.

Two steps.

The strap sprang loose again, and the sandal flew off.

His foot slipped.

Splat!

Asuma hit the ground face-first once more.

This time, he fell sideways and slapped onto the ground like a dead fish, his shoulder aching from the impact.

His front teeth split his lip, and blood trickled out.

"What the hell! Are my legs completely useless now?!"

Asuma lay sprawled on the ground, utterly dumbfounded.

He stared fixedly at his feet as his mind raced.

He never once suspected the shoes.

After all, they were brand-new, and Ye had given them to him so sincerely.

How could it possibly be the shoes' fault?

It was all because of his muscle cramps!

But he never could have imagined that the problem was precisely with the shoes on his feet.

The rest of the journey became the most miserable trip home in Konoha's history.

Every two or three steps Asuma took, the shoes would fall off.

When they fell off, he slipped. When he slipped, he fell.

All he could do was walk, lose his shoes, pick them up, and keep falling in an endless cycle.

His body, already falling apart from running, was battered back and forth against the stone-paved road.

In the short distance of half a street, he fell over more than twenty times.

His knees were scraped open, and his palms were bleeding.

Three huge bumps rose on his forehead, and his face was bruised and swollen.

The dirt on his School Uniform was thick enough to grow vegetables in, while his clothes had been reduced to tattered strips.

Passing Konoha residents kept glancing his way.

"Isn't that Lord Hokage's son? Why is he walking like he's drunk?"

"He's like this at such a young age. Does Lord Hokage know?"

Asuma gritted his teeth, his eyes red, and said nothing.

He fell again.

He fell again.

Asuma completely gave up on walking upright.

With his knees on the ground and his hands braced against the paving stones, he painfully wriggled toward the public restroom at the end of the Konoha street in a humiliating posture.

Ten minutes later.

Asuma finally crawled to the entrance of the Konoha public restroom.

He slumped against the sink, panting like a bull, and was about to crawl inside to splash some water on his face and clear his head.

Suddenly, a weak, trembling voice with an obvious sobbing tone came from the innermost stall of the men's room.

"Is that... Asuma outside?"

Asuma froze.

That voice sounded familiar.

"Guy?"

Asuma used the edge of the sink to pull himself upright.

There was silence in the stall for two seconds before Guy called out weakly.

"Asuma... could you... do me a favor?"

"What favor?"

"Could you... trade clothes with me?"

Guy's voice was full of pleading, almost humble.

None of his usual vigor remained.

Asuma frowned tightly after hearing that.

Trade clothes?

Trade for that disgusting green skintight bodysuit of his?

How humiliating would it be to wear that thing?

He would look like a walking green glow stick out on the street.

Asuma instinctively wanted to refuse.

But then he looked down at his own pants.

If he went home dressed like this and his father saw him, the dignified Hokage's son had actually been scared into wetting himself.

Hiruzen Sarutobi would definitely hang him from a beam and beat him.

Of the two evils, he chose the lesser.

Compared to getting beaten, wearing green tights did not seem entirely unacceptable.

It was dark already. He just had to hurry home and change out of them.

"...Fine, let's trade."

Asuma agreed through gritted back teeth.

Soon, the stall door opened a narrow crack.

A green bodysuit rolled into a ball was passed out through the gap.

Asuma accepted it with a frown.

The moment he took it, he felt that the clothes were a little heavier than expected and carried an inexplicable warmth.

During the handoff, the clothes also dropped noticeably faster than they should have.

But Asuma was in too much of a hurry to change out of his wet pants to notice such details.

He quickly stripped off his jacket and pants, rolled them into a ball, and tossed them through the window.

Then he unfolded the green bodysuit, held his breath, and put it on as if resigning himself to his fate.

He slid both legs into the pant legs and pulled up the zipper.

The very second the zipper reached the top.

Asuma froze on the spot. Something was wrong with this bodysuit!

Guy, who had just changed into Asuma's pants, let out a terrified screech.

Creak!

The stall door was pushed open.

Might Guy supported himself against the doorframe as he walked out.

He was wearing Asuma's pants, bare-chested above the waist.

Asuma stood beside the sink in that figure-hugging green bodysuit.

In that bizarre atmosphere, the two turned their heads, and their gazes met in midair.

One look was enough.

From the lifeless despair in each other's eyes.

Asuma and Guy completely understood what horrifying thing had gotten onto the other's clothes.

Boom!!!

On that day, both their worldviews collapsed.

Aaaaaaah!!!

Two bloodcurdling screams erupted at once, echoing through Konoha's dusk for a long time.

Guy's knees gave out, and he could no longer support his own weight. With a thump, he dropped directly onto the wet tiled floor of the public restroom.

Asuma's legs trembled, and his feet slipped.

Those damned sandals fulfilled their duty once again at that very moment.

With a splat, he crashed heavily to the ground.

This time, he did not even want to crawl back up.

The two clutched their heads with both hands and stared up at the public restroom ceiling as tears poured from their eyes.

Neither made a sound.

Outside the Uchiha compound.

Ye leisurely stepped onto the stone road home, his mind full of calculations about today's gains and tomorrow's plans to fleece more wool.

Two notification chimes rang out in his mind in succession.

[Ding! Guard-Break Points from Asuma Sarutobi: +999!!!]

[Ding! Guard-Break Points from Might Guy: +999!!!]

Ye halted, his face full of question marks.

He rubbed his chin in bafflement, turned to look at the empty street behind him, then looked toward Konoha Commercial Street.

"What are those two... doing now?"