Light at the edge of the training ground

The next day, the sun woke Shuo. His blanket lay rolled into a ball on his stomach, making him sweat all over.

Sunlight streamed through a gap in the curtains, hitting him square in the face, too dazzling for him to open his eyes.

He rolled over and squinted at the sun outside, wondering, Nine? Ten? Whatever, no alarm anyway-oh, right. Forgot to set it last night.

He lay there a while, his stomach growling with hunger. Yesterday's red bean dumplings were long gone. Just as he was considering restocking at the sweet shop, a thunderous knocking gave him a headache.

"Shuo! Open up, open up!"

It was Obito's voice, frantic as though his pants were on fire.

"So noisy. I'm here."

Shuo dragged himself upright, his hair a bird's nest. "What is it?"

"Minato-sensei wants you at the training ground! He says he needs to test some new tactics right away!"

New tactics?

More testing?

Shuo scratched his head, looking thoroughly put off. "What time?"

"Right now! I've already been waiting ten minutes!"

"Oh."

His response was halfhearted. He dawdled through washing up and changing, then went downstairs to find Obito pacing by the door like a rabbit hopping with impatience.

"You're way too slow, Shuo! Minato-sensei's going to get mad if we're any later!"

"What's the rush? It's not going anywhere."

Hands in his pockets, Shuo dragged his feet, moving even slower than a stroll.

Obito was at a loss for words. He could only lead the way with his head down, turning back now and then to hurry him along.

By the time they reached the training ground, Minato, Kakashi, and Rin were already there. Minato was talking to Kakashi, while Rin held a pen and paper, recording data.

"Shuo's here."

Minato turned with a smile. "We're trying out teamwork today. A two-on-two practice match."

"Teamwork?"

Shuo raised an eyebrow, looking reluctant. "We have to form teams, too? What a hassle."

"Just once. We'll finish after the test."

Minato pointed to the center of the field. "You and Kakashi against Obito and Rin. No lethal attacks. Fifteen-minute time limit. Each hit scores a point."

Shuo glanced at the expressionless Kakashi beside him and shrugged. "Fine, as long as it isn't too much trouble."

Obito rubbed his fists eagerly and shouted, "Kakashi, Shuo, I'm definitely winning this time!"

Kakashi gave him an indifferent glance. "Beat me first, then talk."

The moment the fight began, Obito charged like a madman, flinging shuriken in a clattering barrage as though they cost nothing.

Kakashi sidestepped them and flung three kunai back, precisely cutting off Obito's path.

Forced to stop, Obito rapidly formed hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

The fireball roared toward Kakashi. Just as he was about to jump back, a streak of golden light shot past his shoulder and struck the fireball from the side-with a boom, it veered off course, grazed his clothes, and exploded against the ground, kicking up dust.

Kakashi turned to Shuo, who was still standing in the same spot, his left hand in his pocket. He had just lowered his right index finger and looked utterly unconcerned. "Helped you dodge."

"I could have dodged it."

"Oh. Do it yourself next time, then. Saves me the effort."

Shuo shrugged, not feeling in the slightest that he had meddled.

Across from them, Obito shouted impatiently, "Hey! Can you two take this seriously?"

Kakashi ignored him, formed hand seals, and unleashed a jutsu-Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu. His target was actually the ground beneath Shuo's feet!

The instant the ground collapsed, Shuo dissolved into light and re-formed three meters away. "Close one. You almost got me," he said evenly.

"Didn't you say to dodge it myself next time?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"That was defense. This is my teammate setting me up. Different things," Shuo said with complete conviction.

Kakashi fell silent, probably finding it too much trouble to reason with him.

Obito seized the opportunity to charge, pressing Kakashi with taijutsu, while Rin circled behind him from the flank, aiming a kunai beneath his ribs.

Facing both alone, Kakashi's movements gradually grew strained.

Just then, Kakashi's vision suddenly blurred-it wasn't Shuo moving, but the light around him distorting. Obito and Rin's figures shifted more than twenty centimeters in his eyes. His kunai thrust struck empty air, and Obito's fist landed squarely on his shoulder.

"Got him!" Obito jumped with excitement.

Kakashi turned to glare at Shuo, whose left hand was raised, fingers loosely curled. The light around them was still wavering slightly. "You're interfering with my vision?"

"Yeah." Shuo admitted it openly.

"We're on the same team!"

"I know. But you didn't ask for help, so I thought you could handle it."

At the edge of the field, Minato shook his head with a smile, then walked over and called a halt. "All right, all right. Shuo, that was light-field distortion just now, right? Can you control its range?"

"I can. Fine adjustments are just too much trouble. Can't be bothered doing much of that."

"What if you communicated with your teammate beforehand and coordinated through simple signals?"

Minato took out several specially made kunai, their handles wrapped in different-colored thread. "Kakashi, use these to signal. Each color represents a tactic. Shuo, you won't need to speak. You'll understand from the color."

Kakashi took the kunai and glanced at Shuo. "Can he remember them?"

"Red, yellow, blue, green. Only four. Not remembering that would be too much trouble."

Shuo curled his lip. "Still, it's less effort than talking. I'll go along with it, I guess."

Training resumed. Over the next fifteen minutes, their teamwork stumbled along-Kakashi calculated precisely, planning every step, while Shuo relied entirely on instinct: "Close enough," "something like this," "just block it somehow." Yet he was extraordinarily efficient at covering gaps.

Minato studied the recorded data thoughtfully. "Your styles are so different, yet you complement each other so well..."

Obito lay sprawled on the ground, panting like a dog. "I'm exhausted... Shuo, you barely moved the whole time. How did you win?"

"I moved. Took two steps just now." Shuo crouched in the shade of a tree, drinking water, his tone perfunctory.

"What two steps? How come I didn't see them?"

Shuo ignored him. After finishing his water, he tossed the flask aside, not bothering to explain-explaining things to an idiot was too much trouble.

After a ten-minute break, they went another round. This time, Shuo would feint and disrupt, while Kakashi took the offensive.

At the start, Shuo stood right at the front, hands in his pockets, his loose stance full of openings. Yet Obito didn't dare charge-who knew whether this guy had another lazy trick up his sleeve?

"Obito, break through on the left!" Rin called from the flank.

Obito gritted his teeth and charged, but after just two steps, something suddenly stung his eyes-Shuo had merely turned slightly, letting sunlight strike his blond hair at just the right angle to reflect a golden beam straight into Obito's eyes.

"Damn it! What was that?"

Obito instinctively shut his eyes, his movements immediately going awry.

By the time he opened them, Kakashi's kunai was already at his throat. "You're dead," he said coldly.

Obito: "..." He finally understood. Shuo's lazy tricks were even more annoying than Kakashi's Lightning Blade!

Rin took the opportunity to attack from the other side. Shuo merely shifted his foot half an inch, unhurriedly, and her kunai flew past the hem of his clothes without even touching it.

Rin landed, looked at her empty hand, and asked in confusion, "Shuo, did you predict my path?"

"No. I sensed it."

Shuo shrugged and pointed at the sun. "When you charged, your shadow moved first. The light changed, so I just moved along with it."

Rin paused, then gave a rueful smile. "I don't think I can learn that kind of sense."

"No need to learn. Just watch the light more. It's simple," Shuo said lightly. In any case, he couldn't be bothered teaching.

When the round ended, Minato called a halt. "That's it for today. Thanks for your hard work, everyone. Go get some rest."

As though granted a pardon, Obito grabbed Rin and ran, afraid of falling victim to another of Shuo's lazy tricks.

Kakashi put away his kunai and walked over to Shuo. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "That distortion you used to interfere with vision just now-how long can you keep it up?"

"Ten-odd seconds. Any longer takes effort. Enough for a real fight."

Shuo yawned. "I'm going to lunch. Minato-sensei said he'd treat me to ramen."

Watching his retreating back, Kakashi nodded silently-lazy as he was, his strength was real.

Minato walked over and patted Shuo's shoulder, his tone casual. "Shuo, has anyone been giving you trouble these past few days?"

Shuo's steps paused for half a second before he continued forward. "Don't remember. I can't be bothered remembering troublesome people."

"Fair enough."

Minato smiled without pressing him. "Let's go. All the ramen you can eat."

They left the training ground side by side. As they passed the mission hall, Shuo glanced toward the window-Dumpling was still sleeping on the sill, and a silver-gray shadow flashed between the file shelves.

Tsk. More trouble.

Shuo looked away, paid it no mind, and followed Minato through Ichiraku Ramen's entrance curtain.

"Miso ramen. Large bowl. Extra chashu."

He slumped over the counter and spoke lazily.

Sunlight passed through the curtain outside, gilding the rim of his bowl. Shuo lowered his head and picked at his ramen, eating at a leisurely pace.

The light was still there, and so was the trouble, but so what?

Finish the ramen first. Everything else is too much trouble.