Poor Iruka

Kiyoshi kept walking, his face expressionless.

That earned me coins? Would I get more if I listened a little longer?

He thought about it, then walked back.

He sat down on the bench beside the two middle-aged women and stared blankly at a tree across from him, as if lost in thought.

The two women glanced at him, paid him no mind, and kept talking.

"What do you think that child will do in the future? Nobody wants to play with him."

"I heard he doesn't have any friends at the Ninja Academy, either."

"Of course he doesn't. Who would want to play with a child like that?"

Kiyoshi sat on the bench, listening with an expressionless face.

[System notification: awkwardness value +5.]

[System notification: awkwardness value +5.]

[System notification: awkwardness value +5. Your endurance is commendable, host, but your behavior has attracted the attention of passersby.]

He sat there a while, decided that was enough, then stood up and left.

After a few steps, he looked down at the paint stain on his hand. It had rubbed off on him when he'd taken the brush earlier, and he hadn't washed it off yet. He glanced at it, left it alone, and kept walking.

He rounded a street corner and saw Naruto crouching in the corner of an alley, his back against the wall and his head lowered.

He walked over, crouched down, and looked at him.

Naruto looked up, saw him, and froze for a moment. "You... how did you find me?"

"I was passing by."

"Oh."

Naruto lowered his head without saying anything.

Kiyoshi crouched beside him and said nothing, either.

After a while, Naruto spoke. "You... heard what they said just now, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

"They weren't wrong."

"Yeah."

Naruto raised his head and looked at him. "You... don't have anything to say?"

He opened his mouth, then closed it again. When he spoke once more, his voice was even quieter, as though he was afraid to hear the answer.

"Do you... do you think I'm... too?"

He didn't finish.

Kiyoshi looked at him, his face expressionless. "No."

Naruto froze. He hadn't expected Kiyoshi to answer so quickly.

Kiyoshi said, "They weren't wrong, but they shouldn't have said it."

"You're the Demon Fox. That's a fact. But you're not a menace. That's prejudice."

Naruto looked at him, opened his mouth slightly, then closed it again.

Kiyoshi stood up and brushed the dust off his trousers. "Come on. I'll treat you to dango."

"Huh?"

"Dango. That shop over there. I passed it last time and smelled it, but I didn't buy any. I want to try it today."

Naruto looked at him for a long while, then stood up. "...You're paying?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Kiyoshi thought for a moment. "Because it's the weekend, because I just earned some coins, because you were there and so was I."

Naruto didn't quite understand, but he followed him anyway.

They walked down the street, Kiyoshi in front with his expressionless face and Naruto behind him. After a while, Naruto jogged a couple of steps to walk beside Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi spoke. "Next time... can we go to that Secret Base again?"

Naruto paused, then grinned. "Of course! It's your Secret Base now, too!"

"Yeah."

The two walked off into the distance.

Another breeze swept along the roadside, lifting the fallen leaves into a brief swirl before they settled again.

On Hokage Rock, a crooked mustache had been added to the Fourth's face. The setting sun shone on it, casting long shadows that looked a little ridiculous.

But somehow, it didn't look quite so solemn anymore.

The next morning, when Kiyoshi arrived at the classroom, he saw a crowd gathered by the door.

He walked over with his expressionless face, skirted the crowd, and glanced into the classroom.

It had been almost half a year since school started. The countdown in his mind remained quiet, but it ticked onward every day: less than a year until that night.

A bucket sat above the door, half full of water, tied to the doorframe with a rope whose other end was connected to the handle. The moment someone pushed the door open, the bucket would tip over.

Kiyoshi looked at it for three seconds.

Without changing his expression, he turned, walked over to the window, and climbed inside. His movements were fairly nimble, but his toe caught the window frame as he landed. He wobbled, then steadied himself. A few nearby classmates watched him, and he kept his face expressionless, pretending nothing had happened.

The nearby classmates stared, taken aback by his climb through the window.

Nakajima said, "You... why didn't you use the door?"

Kiyoshi remained expressionless. "I'd get wet."

"...You knew there was a trap above the door?"

"Yeah."

"Then why didn't you tell us?"

"You didn't ask."

Nakajima opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Kiyoshi walked to his seat, put away his bag, and sat down.

A little later, the bell rang, and Iruka arrived.

He reached the doorway and pushed the door open. The bucket tipped over, drenching him from head to toe with half a bucket of water. His lesson notes got soaked, too.

The classroom went silent for a second, then someone couldn't hold back a laugh.

Iruka stood in the doorway with a drop of water hanging from his face. He was silent for three seconds, inhaled, then exhaled. His voice wasn't loud, but the entire class heard him.

"Na-ru-to-"

Naruto wasn't in the classroom. Today, he "hadn't arrived yet."

Iruka shook the water off his lesson notes, wiped his face, and walked into the classroom. He glanced at Kiyoshi's seat. Kiyoshi sat perfectly straight, his desk neat and his book already open.

Iruka asked, "Kiyoshi, have you seen Naruto?"

Kiyoshi remained expressionless. "No."

"Do you know who set up the trap above the door?"

"No."

"Then why did you come in through the window?"

Kiyoshi fell silent for a moment. "...Because the window was open."

Iruka looked at him in silence. He wanted to say something, but after looking at his soaked clothes and then at Kiyoshi's expressionless face, all he said was, "...Never mind. Let's start class."

The morning lessons proceeded normally. Naruto didn't show up until the second period. Iruka caught him in the hallway, scolded him, and made him stand outside for an entire lesson.

But Naruto clearly hadn't learned his lesson.

At noon, as Kiyoshi walked down the hallway on his way back from the cafeteria, he spotted a row of nails scattered across the floor. They gleamed, neatly arranged right at the corner, where they were almost impossible to notice unless someone looked closely.

He stopped, his face expressionless.

He looked down at the nails, then up toward the end of the hallway. Naruto was hiding behind the corner with half his head poking out, watching. When he saw Kiyoshi, he quickly ducked back.

Kiyoshi was silent for two seconds.

Then he went around them.

Hugging the wall, he moved one step at a time as if walking a balance beam, edging around the row of nails before continuing onward. Some classmates watched him, but he ignored them, his face expressionless. A few steps later, he came face-to-face with Iruka.

Iruka held a cup of tea, having just come out of the staffroom, and wasn't watching the floor.

Kiyoshi remained expressionless. "Iruka-sensei."

"Hm?"

"There are nails on the floor up ahead."

Iruka paused, then looked down and saw the row of gleaming nails. The hand holding his tea trembled. He carefully stepped around them, then crouched down and picked up the nails one by one, his expression growing darker by the second.

After collecting all the nails, he stood up and took a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice was a full octave higher than usual.

"Naruto!!! Get back here!!! This is my third change of clothes today!!!"