Uzumaki Hayashi looked at the blond boy in front of him, whose blush had spread all the way to his ears, and failed to react for a moment.
Was he calling him pretty?
Then he lowered his gaze and met those bright blue eyes, and it suddenly clicked.
Well, damn. Did this kid think he was a girl?
Uzumaki Hayashi opened his mouth to explain, then swallowed the words before they could leave his lips.
Forget it.
Why explain? That would take all the fun out of it. Besides, with how nervous this guy looked, teasing him a little might be pretty entertaining.
He lazily straightened up and slipped his hands back into his pockets.
"Where do you live?"
"Huh?"
"It's getting dark. I'll walk you home." Uzumaki Hayashi tipped up his chin. "The way you are, if someone corners you again on the way, all my work today will have been for nothing."
Naruto Uzumaki froze for a second, then shook his head like a rattle drum.
"N-no need! I can get home myself!"
That was what he said, but his stomach betrayed him with a growl.
Grrr-
For a moment, the alley fell awkwardly silent.
Naruto Uzumaki wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into. He hadn't eaten a single bite since leaving home that day and had originally planned to grab something at Teuchi's.
But when he turned his head and saw the sunset tracing a golden edge along the other boy's profile, every word on Naruto's tongue suddenly vanished.
Hungry? What was hunger?
"Come on."
Uzumaki Hayashi had already started walking.
Naruto hurriedly tucked his toad wallet inside his jacket and jogged after him.
The two walked one behind the other, neither saying a word along the way.
Uzumaki Hayashi couldn't be bothered to make conversation. With both hands in his pockets, he walked at an easy pace.
Naruto Uzumaki didn't dare make conversation.
He followed half a step behind, his eyes flicking to the ground, then helplessly drifting to the side. One peek, then he quickly looked away. Another peek, then he quickly looked away again.
On his third stolen glance, he failed to watch where he was going and slammed his shoulder squarely into a utility pole by the road.
Thud.
"Ghh-" Naruto crouched down, clutching his shoulder.
"..." Uzumaki Hayashi stopped and turned to look at him. "The road's straight. How did you manage to hit that?"
"I-I just wasn't paying attention!" Naruto grimaced in pain, but still didn't forget to put on a brave front.
Uzumaki Hayashi watched him for two seconds without saying anything, then continued walking, only a little more slowly.
As they passed Ichiraku Ramen, the aroma of pork bone broth drifted out through the curtain. Naruto Uzumaki's stomach gave another traitorous growl, but he didn't stop walking.
He stole a glance at the person beside him.
How strange.
He was so hungry his stomach felt glued to his spine, yet right then, he didn't want to eat ramen at all.
They stopped outside an old apartment building at the edge of the village.
Naruto Uzumaki lived in a very out-of-the-way spot. Half the hallway lights were broken, patches of plaster had fallen off the walls, and the doormat was covered in dust.
"Um... this is my place."
Standing at his door, Naruto turned around and bowed deeply, in all earnestness.
"Thank you for today!"
"All right, all right." Uzumaki Hayashi waved a hand. "Go on in. Just remember to lock the door, then get a good night's sleep."
Naruto raised his head, wanting to say something else, but the other boy had already turned to leave.
The ends of his red hair swayed once at the hallway entrance, then disappeared.
Naruto Uzumaki stood at his door without moving for a long time.
The scenes from earlier kept playing over and over in his head. The dust blown off the coins, the other boy's soft, warm hand, and those words: "It's on my way."
On his way? Yeah, right.
Who went so far out of their way to stand up for him, then walked him all the way upstairs?
As Naruto thought about it, he couldn't help breaking into a grin and letting out a laugh. Then he quickly covered his mouth and glanced around like a thief.
Good. Nobody saw.
Gentle, cute, and kind, too.
Naruto Uzumaki sniffed hard and reached his final conclusion-
This person was prettier than Sakura... even prettier than Sakura!
"Oh, right!"
Naruto abruptly slapped his forehead.
He hadn't even asked the other boy's name!
He didn't even have time to pull back the foot he had just planted inside his home. Without changing his shoes, he spun around, yanked the door open, and rushed out, leaning out of the hallway entrance to look left and right-
The hallway was empty, and so was the space downstairs.
There wasn't a single person in sight along the entire street.
"Huh?!"
How did he leave so fast?!
Naruto clung to the railing, his shoulders slowly slumping.
Tomorrow... after school tomorrow, I'll look around that area again. Maybe I'll run into him!
Meanwhile, Uzumaki Hayashi had barely rounded two streets when someone blocked his path.
"You little troublemaker!"
Chunin Tanabe rushed over from across the street and grabbed his wrist, looking for all the world as though he feared Linshi would sprout wings and fly away again.
Chunin Iwai followed behind him. Even his usually expressionless face showed a crack in its composure.
"You really made us search!" Chunin Tanabe panted. "You went to the bathroom and stayed gone for over two hours! We almost thought someone had kidnapped you!"
"We nearly submitted a report to Lord Hokage saying we'd lost an Uzumaki Clan member," Chunin Iwai added from beside him.
Uzumaki Hayashi blinked and obligingly raised both hands.
"Well, I'm back now, aren't I?"
"As long as you're back, as long as you're back..."
Chunin Tanabe wanted to scold him some more, but the moment he looked at that face, he couldn't muster any anger. In the end, he could only heave a sigh and coax him earnestly:
"You little troublemaker, next time you want to go somewhere, tell us old guys first, all right? You don't know anyone here or your way around. If something happened to you, how would we explain it to the Third Hokage?"
"Okay, I'll remember next time."
Uzumaki Hayashi agreed without the slightest hesitation.
He agreed so readily that Chunin Tanabe felt even less reassured.
[Ding-]
The system notification sounded just then.
[Target Naruto Uzumaki has arrived home safely. Today's bullying incident caused no harm.] [Mission complete. Reward issued: chakra limit increased (Elite Chunin Level).]
A warm current welled up from deep within his body, and his chakra capacity rose noticeably. Uzumaki Hayashi kept his expression unchanged while mentally giving the system credit.
"Oh, right. There's still official business." Chunin Iwai had recovered his composure. "Lord Hokage wants to see you."
"Now?"
"Now." Chunin Tanabe nodded. "We were supposed to take you there after turning in the mission, but you vanished in the blink of an eye. The Third Hokage has already been waiting for you for nearly an hour."
Uzumaki Hayashi blinked.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Shinobi Hero, the Ninjutsu Professor, one of the longest-lived old foxes in the shinobi world today-and the man who knew more of this village's secrets than anyone else.
The seal on Naruto, the old debts of Uzushio Village, and what would become of him, the "last member of the Uzumaki Clan"-sooner or later, he would have to settle each of those accounts with this old man.
He had originally planned to find somewhere to stay that night, then start asking around the next day.
He hadn't expected the other party to come looking for him first.
Uzumaki Hayashi slipped his hands back into his pockets and gave a quiet chuckle.
"The Third, huh..."
"I'm really looking forward to this."
Before you continue