Morning sunlight slanted through the classroom windows, casting shafts of light across the aisles between the desks.
Tiny specks of dust drifted lazily through them, as though they hadn't woken up yet.
Kiyoshi sat by the window with his head lowered over a book. His classmates chatted nearby; some snacked, others rushed to finish their homework, their pens swishing across the paper. It was just like any other day.
He turned a page and glanced toward the door out of the corner of his eye.
Hinata Hyuga stood in the doorway without coming in.
Her head was lowered, her hands twisting together in front of her. She stood there for quite a while, as though working up her courage.
A passing classmate greeted her. She looked up to answer, then lowered her head again, still not moving.
Kiyoshi looked away and went back to reading.
About ten or fifteen seconds later, he heard footsteps.
They were soft and slow, as though every step came with hesitation. But he didn't look up. He turned another page.
Then the footsteps stopped beside his seat.
Someone stood beside him and stayed there.
Only then did he raise his head.
Hinata Hyuga stood beside him, her hands twisting together in front of her, her head lowered. Her face was scarlet from her forehead down to her neck, exactly as it had been when he'd seen her on the Back Mountain that day.
She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, then closed it again.
Kiyoshi watched her and waited three seconds. When she still couldn't escape the cycle of opening and closing her mouth, he spoke first:
"...Yeah?"
Hinata gave a sudden shudder, as though he'd startled her.
Then she took a deep breath, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz:
"Um... yesterday... that Wrist Guard..."
She spoke very slowly, each word seeming to squeeze out between her teeth, her voice barely audible. But the classroom was quiet, and Kiyoshi heard her perfectly.
He watched her with a deadpan expression.
Hinata took another deep breath, as though she'd made up her mind, and abruptly raised her head:
"That Wrist Guard! Did you leave it there?"
Her voice was a little louder than before, but it dwindled again on the last word, as though she'd only realized what she'd said after saying it. Her face flushed even deeper. Even her neck was red.
Kiyoshi looked into her eyes and gave a deadpan answer:
"No idea."
Hinata froze.
So did the classmates nearby who had been pricking up their ears.
The classroom fell silent for a beat. Someone pretended to cough, stifling a laugh that had nearly escaped.
"But... but it has words embroidered on it..."
"What words?"
"The village's... hope..."
Kiyoshi remained expressionless. "Then it must be yours."
Someone nearby sucked in a breath, as though they'd just heard some juicy gossip. Someone else muttered, "Holy crap," but quickly shut up when the person beside them gave them a shove.
Hinata grew flustered. "But I only got it yesterday! And before I put it on my desk, it was already on my desk..."
"Then someone else left it there."
"But..."
"But since you've got it, wear it."
With that, he lowered his head and went back to his book, as though it no longer had anything to do with him.
Hinata stood beside him, opening her mouth, closing it, opening it again, and closing it again. She stayed rooted to the spot, unsure what to say, her fingers twisting together so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Finally, she whispered:
"...Thank you."
Then she turned and ran.
Her ponytail flicked behind her, and she quickly disappeared to the other end of the classroom.
Kiyoshi turned a page, catching Hinata's retreating figure out of the corner of his eye as she ran back to her seat, her ponytail bouncing. Once there, she slumped over her desk and buried her face in her arms.
Her deskmate leaned over and quietly asked her something. She didn't lift her head, only shook it.
His face still deadpan, Kiyoshi gave a satisfied nod inwardly.
Done. Wrist Guard delivered, and she's wearing it. That should count as perfect, right?
[System notification: Host detected "deliberately playing dumb." Current playing-dumb score: 7. Awkwardness value +10 (risk of your deadpan act being exposed). Face value +0-this isn't presence, just pure awkwardness. Host is advised to maintain this "doing good deeds without admitting it" approach. The results are outstanding.]
He closed the panel and continued reading.
Before long, he heard a hushed conversation coming from Hinata's seat.
"Hinata, Hinata, who gave you that Wrist Guard?"
"N-no... no one..."
"Liar! You just went over to Kiyoshi! Was it from him?"
"No... it wasn't him..."
"Then why are you blushing?"
"I... I'm not..."
"Even your ears are red!"
"..."
Another voice chimed in nearby. "I'm telling you, I just saw an identical one on Kiyoshi's desk."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously! I saw it when I walked past. He has the same one in his bag."
"Then he must be the one who gave it to you!"
"Hinata, just admit it-"
Hinata's voice grew even quieter. "...No... he really didn't..."
Kiyoshi kept his face blank and pretended not to hear. In reality, he'd heard everything, but the essence of being deadpan was acting as though you hadn't heard even when you had.
Still, the girl sharing Hinata's desk leaned close and whispered to her for quite a while. Hinata kept her head down the whole time, her face as red as a tomato, but her hand never left the Wrist Guard on her wrist. Every so often, she stroked it, as though checking that it was still there.
Kiyoshi kept his head lowered over his book and stole another sideways glance.
She's wearing it.
Good.
He turned a page. He hadn't taken in much of the text, but turning the pages felt a little smoother than usual.
That afternoon, the hallway was crowded after school.
Kiyoshi shouldered his bag and left the classroom, walking through the crowd. He'd only taken a few steps when he heard a voice behind him:
"Kiyoshi..."
He turned around.
Hinata stood at the corner of the hallway with her schoolbag on her back, both hands gripping its straps as she looked at him. People came and went through the hall, passing beside her, but she didn't move. She simply stood there.
"Um... see you tomorrow."
Her voice was very quiet, but a little more natural than that morning. After speaking, she didn't run away. She stayed where she was, waiting for his answer.
Kiyoshi looked at her and nodded. "Yeah. See you tomorrow."
Then he turned and left.
Hinata stood in the hallway, watching his back disappear into the stairwell. Then she lowered her gaze to the Wrist Guard and murmured something.
No one heard what she said.
But the corners of her mouth were lifted.
On his way home, Kiyoshi walked slowly. The setting sun shone from the west, stretching his shadow into a long, slender shape across the stone-paved road.
He lowered his gaze to his own wrist.
He was actually wearing a Wrist Guard embroidered with "The village's hope" too.
It wasn't the one he'd given Hinata. He'd bought this one for himself.
That day at the ninja tool shop, he'd picked up an identical one while he was there. The shopkeeper had glanced at him and said, "These have been selling pretty well lately." He'd quietly paid without explaining.
He hadn't thought much of it at the time. He'd simply figured that if Hinata asked why he was wearing one, he could say, "I bought it myself," and that way he wouldn't give himself away.
But Hinata hadn't asked.
He thought it over and decided not to take it off.
It wasn't getting in the way, anyway.
He walked a little farther, then glanced down at the Wrist Guard again.
The fabric was dark blue, with four characters embroidered on it. The stitching wasn't particularly fine, but it was neat. He'd spent quite a while choosing in the shop and picked the most inconspicuous design, never expecting it to match Hinata's.
He thought for a moment, and the corner of his mouth moved slightly.
He kept walking. The setting sun stretched his shadow far behind him.
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