Mornings in the ravine were cooler than in town. Entering it meant passing through a veil of damp air first.
Water tumbled down from upstream, drowning out most other sounds.
The ravine was narrow, its walls tight together. Shout toward the opposite side, and your voice came back exactly as it had left.
Practicing your voice here meant performing for the entire ravine.
Naruto arrived earlier than agreed, a good deal earlier. He squatted there waiting until his legs started bouncing again.
His backpack sat by his feet, with a flask hanging from its strap, bumping against it whenever he moved.
The old man arrived after him.
As he walked, he tilted his head to study both walls, examining them more closely than he did people.
Only after he finished looking did he squat down behind Naruto.
Once down, he checked Naruto's waist first, his gaze settling on the small of his back.
On entering the ravine, the old man had told him straight: today, they were taking that fastening off his body.
It sat just below his navel, invisible and impossible to feel. He had secretly pressed at it more times than he could count.
He did not ask how they would remove it.
Even if he asked, the old man probably would not tell him.
The old man rolled up his sleeves.
He set his palm against Naruto's lower back and rubbed twice.
The pressure was light, stroke by stroke, like kneading a piece of frozen dough.
Then he spread all five fingers, set them along Naruto's spine, and pressed firmly.
"Don't tense up."
Naruto murmured his agreement and relaxed his shoulders.
The first press produced nothing at all.
It was so quiet that all he heard was himself swallowing.
Warmth seeped through his clothes from that palm,