Kakashi stood, leaning on his crutch with one hand and rubbing the back of his head with the other. It was about forty minutes until noon. In that time, the genin team should complete the task. Of course, the shinobi was almost one hundred percent sure that none of the students would manage to take a bell, even if he lay down and read a book.
However, the true essence of the test wasn't that. The point was to work as a team and to be ready to "sacrifice something" for others. In his fantasies, Hatake was already mentally tying Naruto or Sakura to a post and walking away, then unobtrusively observing the genin. The image was so vivid in his head that he even snorted aloud.
"Right, no time for fantasies," Kakashi chided himself. With that attitude, his bells could easily be taken. Never underestimate opponents. "Need to get back to reality. Hm... So, all ninja must master camouflage. For a shinobi, this skill is vital. Only..."
"Not everyone understands that," Hatake muttered quietly.
Sasuke and Sakura had hidden from him quite well. Of course, he still sensed them. The fact that they didn't attack head-on already spoke in favor of their cleverness. But Naruto was still standing there, head held high, arms crossed over his chest.
Kakashi closed his eye and mentally counted to ten, giving the genin time to go to his comrades and discuss tactics. But the little blond didn't hurry to his teammates and just shouted:
"So, let's see who's tougher, Katame-sensei*! I'll become Hokage, and to do that, I need to face as many strong opponents as possible! I'll beat you not with strength, but with cunning!"
(*Katame—"one-eyed")
Kakashi's palm met his face.
"I thought he was smarter. Must've been my imagination... You just said the difference between us is like a kitten and a tiger..."
"What are you standing around for?!" Uzumaki yelled even louder. "Let's fight, dattebayo! Fight, fight!..." the blond chanted.
Naruto's yell was so loud that the Copy Ninja's ears rang. He winced.
"You're contradicting yourself, Naruto. You say you'll beat me with cunning, but then you plan to fight openly. You're a pretty strange guy," Kakashi drawled.
"Your hairstyle is what's strange!" Naruto kept yelling. "Get ready, Katame-sensei, I'll use everything to beat you! And I won't back down no matter what!"
"Is this part of the plan? Or is he just an idiot?" flashed through Kakashi's mind. "I said the main task is getting the bells. What was he listening with?.."
With a yell of "A-A-A!..", the little jinchuriki charged at the jonin. Kakashi's hand reached for his pouch; Naruto reacted quickly, abruptly stopping and jumping aside, then drawing a kunai.
"Not bad reaction," Hatake commented on the genin's actions, "but allow me to teach you a couple of lessons and test your skills at the same time. So, lesson one—taijutsu."
"Taijutsu?" Uzumaki asked. "So you won't use weapons?"
"Oh no, that's unnecessary," the shinobi smiled under his mask and pulled a book from his pouch. Then he sat on the ground, setting aside his crutch, and began reading avidly.
"What?" Naruto drawled in bewilderment. "You're gonna read? What about the test?"
"Calm down, kid," the jonin waved a hand without looking up from his reading. "Your yelling tired me out a bit, so I decided to read a book. But you can attack; in a fight against you, it won't get in the way."
Uzumaki growled, then threw his kunai at the jonin's head. The latter dodged lazily, still not looking up from his reading.
"Hey!.. Don't underestimate me!" Naruto yelled, rushing into hand-to-hand with the jonin.
Kakashi blocked the boy's first punch with his palm while sitting on the grass. The blond followed with a spinning kick. It seemed like it would hit...
But the next moment, Uzumaki lost sight of his mentor, freezing in place. Looking around, he shifted from foot to foot, eyes bulging in futile search for the jonin.
"Stop hiding, dattebayo!"
"A ninja shouldn't leave his back exposed," a voice came from behind Naruto.
"Naruto, run! He'll kill you!" Sakura's desperate cry sounded from somewhere.
The boy froze, but a second later, he was already about to run far from the jonin, as he, judging by Sakura's yell, was preparing something lethal.
"Too late. Secret two-finger technique: Thousand Years of Pain!"
What followed was one of the most gruesome and cruel techniques in the Copy Ninja's arsenal. However, when the tiger seal fingers reached the genin's rear end, he went "Puff!" and dispersed in a puff of smoke.
"What?" escaped from Kakashi. "A shadow clone?.."
Uchiha Sasuke sat in the bushes, watching their new mentor and the noisy blond. The latter clearly wasn't planning to hide. Yeah, he got unlucky with the assignment. One—an annoying weakling, the other—an idiot. Today, for a couple of moments, it had seemed to him that Uzumaki was quite clever, and all his previous behavior was feigned, to throw off guard and lull vigilance.
But now, watching this moron yelling something about figuring out "who's tougher," Uchiha doubted Naruto's sanity again. And when the blond started chanting across the entire training ground: "Fight!", just like a little kid, he was finally convinced of his teammate's idiocy.
"Psst... Sasuke-dumbass..." a quiet voice distracted the brunette from his thoughts.
Uchiha jerked back from the voice source, turning around and drawing a kunai. But when he saw who had called him, he was, to put it mildly, surprised. He glanced back at the clearing, then at the caller. And repeated several times.
"Calm down, Sasuke, it's me, Naruto. The one with Kakashi is my shadow clone. Distracting him," Uzumaki whispered.
Recovering from the brief shock, the brunette nodded grimly.
Approaching almost close to his teammate, Naruto hurriedly and barely audibly continued:
"Hatake Kakashi is one of the strongest shinobi of the Leaf. A genius. Became chunin at six. Around our age, jonin. They say he knows a thousand techniques. And our chances of taking the bells in open combat are near zero. I'm not even talking about beating him. If he doesn't hold back, it's basically impossible."
Sasuke swallowed. If Uzumaki was telling the truth, then their team, like all the other candidates who'd fallen to this monster, would fail too. He slowly put the kunai back in his pouch.
"Where'd you learn that?" Uchiha asked darkly.
"I'll tell you everything. But later," Naruto stated firmly. "We have little time now; we need to retreat deeper into the forest. We'll discuss the plan there. Let's go, but quietly."
"What about Sakura?" Sasuke asked.
"Heh-heh," Naruto scratched his head. "Don't worry, I sent a clone for her..."
The brunette immediately pictured a copy of Naruto trying to convince Sakura to come with him, and her brushing him off. But he didn't argue. Nodding, he followed Uzumaki deeper into the forest.
The pink-haired kunoichi lay on the grass under a sprawling bush, trying not to make a sound. But soon she realized all her efforts were pointless, as the noisy blond was yelling like a fresh fish seller at the market. She began to suspect he was using some special voice-amplifying technique, as a normal kid couldn't produce such volume, in her opinion.
"Sakura-chan," a quiet voice nearby distracted her. "It's me, Naruto. Come with us."
The girl, startled, squeaked in surprise, but the noise on the clearing was such that the sensei probably didn't notice. She slowly turned her head and saw Uzumaki's grinning face.
"Naruto?" Sakura looked bewilderedly from the training ground clearing to the blond lying next to her.
"This is my clone. Distracting Kakashi," the genin explained. "I'm a clone too, by the way."
"Naruto-baka," she hissed angrily, "what does that mean?"
"Shh-shh-shh..." Naruto put a finger to his lips. "No time to explain. It's all Sasuke's plan. He's waiting nearby. Hurry..."
"S-Sasuke-kun's plan?" the kunoichi murmured dreamily, blushing.
"Yup-yup," the blond grumbled glumly. "Come on, faster."
Soon another Uzumaki clone and Sakura were crawling quickly deeper into the forest. After a couple dozen meters, they stood and trotted to the rendezvous point.
Haruno Sakura had no idea that at that moment, another grinning "Sakura" with characteristic whisker marks on her cheeks had crawled into her place, muttering:
"Well, Katame-sensei, you're gonna get it. Even if you're a three-time genius..."
Watching the spectacle on the training ground, the clone under henge barely held back laughter. But the next moment, it was no laughing matter, as the jonin on the clearing appeared behind clone number one, preparing some fire technique.
"Damn," escaped from Naruto's copy, "too early. Naruto-1 should distract him for a few more minutes."
Naruto-2 cleared his throat and, trying to mimic Sakura's voice, yelled:
"Naruto, run! He'll kill you!"
But it was too late, and the plan threatened to crash like an empty ramen bowl...
Uzumaki, paired with Uchiha, moved deftly via the upper paths. The training ground territory wasn't too large, but even its area was enough to hide from the jonin for a while, while he was busy instructing one of Naruto's clones.
"I think that's enough," the blond said in mid-leap, then pushed off a tree trunk. Performing a graceful side somersault, he landed softly on the grass. Sasuke appeared right beside him.
Now they needed to prepare everything. According to info from Anko, Kakashi wanted teamwork from all the genin assigned to him. But none of the candidates for Hatake's students had passed the test. So what's the catch? Naruto had managed to question Mitarashi about their new mentor before. And what she'd told him, Uzumaki didn't like. If you set aside all the info on his genius and strength, the "one-eyed sensei" was either incredibly harsh or extremely lazy and irresponsible.
If the former—then passing the test is real. Just impress the ex-ANBU with a non-standard approach to the task, teamwork, and some "sacrifice." In this case, that sacrifice looked to Uzumaki like readiness to leave the team and return to the Academy. Or share food with the one who failed the test when the sensei decides to leave the genin for a bit and observe from afar. Bijuu knows. Too many options.
But if the latter, and the sensei just doesn't feel like taking new students...
Suddenly, the little jinchuriki's face twisted, and his fists clenched involuntarily.
"What is it?" Uchiha asked.
"What a humiliation," Uzumaki grimaced even more. "Good thing I left a clone there, not myself... Hm..." His hand involuntarily reached for his rear.
The brunette frowned, giving Naruto a puzzled look. The guy looked pale despite his tan.
"Ow, never mind. I don't wanna talk about it," the blond shook his head, scratching his head.
"Well, Katame-sensei. I won't let this slide..." flashed through Naruto's mind.
"What's with the plan?" Sasuke asked darkly.
Naruto stretched his grin ear to ear, trying to shake off the indignation:
"Heh, where's your confidence, Sasuke-baka? Scared we'll all go back to the Academy together?"
"Pf," was the reply.
"Alright, don't get mad. I can't stand you either. And I think it's mutual," at the frank statement, Uchiha just snorted. "But we have no choice. Either we work together, or we fail."
"Where'd you..."
"Details after the test," the blond interrupted Uchiha. "Now, here's the plan. If you don't like it, we'll think together. But not long, 'cause two of my clones already popped. Kakashi'll get bored playing with clones soon and come for us, and Sakura's not hurrying much..."
"Fine, spill," Sasuke grumbled displeasedly. "But first, answer one question."
"Sure, shoot," Naruto waved a hand.
"Why are you proposing the plan now, and not telling it from the morning?.."
"It's..." the genin scratched his head, pondering for a few moments. "Heh-heh, forgot!" he finished cheerfully.
Uchiha slapped his face hard.
"So, a clone," Kakashi muttered.
"Well, Minato-sensei's son couldn't be an idiot..." Hatake smirked under his mask.
Maybe this generation of young ninja would have worthy ones after all. But the question was different. Why was Naruto considered the worst Academy graduate? According to info from the Hokage, Naruto had learned the forbidden multiple shadow cloning jutsu. He'd shown it during the fight against ANBU in the forest when he wanted to help the bald shinobi...
Kakashi had another vision of a moonlit bald head gleaming and an inexorably approaching palm of that terrifying Saitama.
"Bijuu, now this bald guy's gonna give me nightmares. I feel defective..."
Shaking his head, he brushed aside unnecessary thoughts and prepared to test the genin's skills. Not much time left until noon. And he had to give the kids a chance. In open combat, they had no shot. But if they lured the jonin into a trap—which he'd "fall" into, so be it—maybe they'd take the bells. True, the test's essence wasn't that...
Kakashi picked up his crutch from the ground.
"Well, hidden?" he asked loudly. The answer was wind rustling and birdsong. "In any case," Hatake continued, "if you hid poorly, not my fault. I gave you enough time. Now it's time to check what you learned at the Academy."
The jonin opened his book again and walked leisurely, tapping his crutch on the ground, straight to where Sakura was hiding.
Suddenly, several kunai flew from the bushes. He dodged one; the rest Kakashi lazily knocked away with his cane. A shadow flashed to his left, and the next moment, two shuriken flew straight at his head. But Kakashi caught them without looking on two fingers, tucking the crutch under his armpit. The throwing stars spun on his fingers for a bit and calmed. Then he threw them back at Uchiha—it was probably him—grazing, so the young avenger wouldn't relax.
"Good, attacked from the blind spot. True, for an experienced shinobi, it doesn't matter," flashed through Hatake's mind.
The shuriken missed, and the jonin finally tore himself from reading and turned to the brunette.
"Wh-what?" escaped from Kakashi.
Before him stood Sasuke in a perfect fighting stance. He was just finishing fire technique seals. At that moment, the jonin heard iron whistling from behind. But the next second, several kunai and a small fireball hit a wooden log left from the substitution technique.
"Lesson two," Kakashi began the lecture, "substitution technique or Kawarimi..."
Kakashi leisurely emerged from behind the trees and examined the two genin. He was about to explain the importance of knowing this technique, but the words stuck in his throat.
Before him were Sasuke and Sakura in identical fighting stances with kunai in hands. But that wasn't what shocked the jonin. Both kids had a very distinctive feature that was hard to miss.
"N-Naruto?" Hatake asked.
"Kakashi-sensei, what are you talking about?" Sakura inquired.
The man put the book in his pouch and leaned both hands on the crutch, examining the genin.
"Good Henge," Kakashi continued, "but you forgot one thing." He pointed to his cheek.
The genin stared at each other in bewilderment, but then it dawned.
"Damn!" they said simultaneously. "Whiskers!"
"Yes, Naruto, if not for the distinctive cheek stripes and identical movements, you might've fooled me." The jonin mentally addressed Uzumaki. "Though no. If I'd used Sharingan, you couldn't. Your clones are just distractions. Obvious. Wonder what the team's planning? Explosive tags? Traps with throwing iron?.."
The jonin's gaze darted to the forest. Hatake had promised not to fight full strength, so he'd have to deliberately limit his perception, strength, and speed. But the kids needed to understand the difference between a jonin and an Academy graduate, so he wouldn't hold back completely.
The clones drooped for a bit, but after a few breaths, they shouted energetically:
"This changes nothing, we'll still kick your ass!"
"Don't waste strength," Kakashi raised a conciliatory hand, "better dispel. That way you'll save chakra. And in the forest, you'll have better chances against me..."
"We don't need handouts!" the clones flared up. "And we don't need the original. We're enough to beat you!"
"Whatever you say," Kakashi smiled under his mask.
"Now I know for sure the original's not nearby."
The next moment, the "Sakura" clone was dispelled by a powerful crutch strike. The copy didn't even understand what happened. "Sasuke" canceled henge, returning to the original blond in an orange jumpsuit. Forming a seal, he created several clones, and they scattered, hoping to distract the jonin. Naruto-3 himself was forming a series of seals for a fire jutsu.
"Too slow..." Kakashi appeared behind him, patting the clone's shoulder gently. But Naruto grinned and instead of final seals, threw a shuriken at the jonin without looking.
Hatake dodged, but his gaze showed disbelief:
"Interrupted the technique that fast?"
"Heck, I wasn't gonna use it, just created the illusion," the clone grinned. Jumping away from the shinobi, he yelled: "Now!"
At the command, a cloud of various iron flew at the shinobi from different sides. Even if it was shadow clone shuriken, Kakashi decided not to risk it and substituted, ending up a hundred meters from the recent clash.
"Not bad," flashed through Hatake's mind, "maybe I should get serious..."
Forming a seal, he created a shadow clone, sending it to deal with Naruto's copies, while he himself shot into the forest like lightning. Sounds of a new battle were already coming from the clearing.
"Plans don't always go as expected, Naruto. But in any case, the test promises to be interesting..."
"Sakura-chan, please, faster..." Naruto-4 pleaded.
The genin had suggested going upper paths right away, but Sakura frankly didn't understand why hurry anywhere; and as soon as the kids got a good distance from Kakashi, she started complaining about why she was even listening to Naruto.
"Shut up, baka," Sakura snapped. "Why'd you come for me, not Sasuke-kun? And where is he?" The girl stopped, hands on hips, glaring angrily at the blond.
"Sakura-chan..." the blond practically wailed with tears in his eyes. "Not the time. Please, let's go..."
"No!" the kunoichi replied sharply. "I'm not going anywhere."
Naruto frankly pissed off the girl. At first, she'd believed they were going to Sasuke and he had a plan. But now she thought about some things. Like why Uchiha had shared his plan only with Naruto. Why hadn't he said a word to her? And why couldn't they discuss it beforehand?
Sakura asked the blond clone all these questions, but he just brushed her off, saying, "Everything later, now's not the time." The girl was starting to get really irritated about it. And those stupid bells...
"I might get separated from Sasuke-kun. Naruto should be the one eliminated, not me..." Sakura thought.
After a couple of minutes of bickering with the noisy blond, the little Kunoichi turned around and was about to head back...
"Yo!" a cheerful voice called from above. The silver-haired man was sitting on one of the massive branches right over them.
"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura responded, looking straight into the Jonin's eye. "But what..."
She didn't get to finish. The world around her seemed to blur. The rustle of countless leaves filled the air. Her head spun...
"Eh? What's happening?" The pink-haired Kunoichi started looking around for her teacher and teammate, but they had vanished into thin air, as if swallowed by the earth.
"Sakura," a quiet voice came from behind.
The girl recognized it.
"Finally, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said with relief, turning around.
"Sakura... help me..." a rasp escaped from her beloved.
The little Kunoichi stared at the Genin in disbelief.
The Uchiha was covered in wounds. His left arm was missing. His leg was twisted at an utterly unnatural angle. Various throwing weapons were embedded in his body. Blood. There was blood everywhere under the Uchiha. It spurted from his left shoulder, his mouth, his cheek pierced by a kunai, and a huge number of small cuts...
Sakura began shaking as if in a seizure. She broke out in sticky sweat, and tears burst from her eyes.
"NOOOOO!" The training ground echoed with a thin girlish scream.
A moment later, the girl, having experienced unprecedented shock, sank into merciful oblivion.
On the periphery of her fading consciousness, she heard only a loud "Puff!"
"A crazy plan," Sasuke concluded after Uzumaki's explanation. "It won't work. Too dependent on the terrain. What if Kakashi doesn't come here?"
"Got any better ideas, genius?" Naruto snapped.
"No," the Uchiha said grimly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Then we're doing it!"
The blond formed a seal, and five clones appeared around him in puffs of smoke. He immediately handed out several explosive tags to each copy. They saluted briskly and set about placing the explosive seals around the area: under bushes, on thick branches, tree trunks, the ground. Kakashi was in for a surprise when he got here.
*Just don't forget where I placed them,* Uzumaki chuckled to himself.
Anko had given him the seals. Yesterday. Twenty-five of them, no less. Naruto didn't know why she was so generous, but he was deeply grateful to the Tokubetsu Jonin. When the boy asked "Why?", the girl replied: "They'll come in handy. On the test..."
He had asked her himself to tell him more about this Hatake Kakashi, as well as the test that Team 7 would face. No need to convince Mitarashi. The girl willingly shared what she knew about the Copy Ninja and gave a few tips on how to counter a strong opponent, what to count on and what not to. She also hinted at the importance of teamwork and using various tactics with clones, including distractions.
Scrolling through yesterday's memories, Naruto's mind latched onto two key points: the presence of clones and explosive tags.
*Clones and explosive seals. Clones... and explosive seals...*
"Boss!" a clone's voice pulled the boy from his thoughts. "All set!"
"Yeah," Uzumaki nodded absently and dispelled the copies. The influx of information barely affected the Genin's thought process. He only noted the locations of the kibaku fuda with the edge of his mind. Twenty of them. Five left in reserve, just in case.
*Clones and explosive seals...*
The thought refused to come. Naruto felt like he was missing something very important. An important tactic with clones.
Suddenly, an idea shot through Uzumaki's head.
"Of course! It's so simple! The idea's right there on the surface."
The blond even jumped in excitement.
"What is it?" the Uchiha grumbled sullenly.
"Ha-ha-ha..." Uzumaki struck a cool pose. "The bells will be ours, Sasuke. Though I can't guarantee the sensei's safety..."
The Uchiha just snorted smugly.
Information came from the dispelled clone. Uzumaki's smile froze. Realizing what had happened, it smoothly turned into a feral grin. It was the clone he'd sent after Sakura. The last memory: the girl froze in shock, then started shaking, tears streaming from her eyes. Sakura's piercing scream still rang in his ears.
Noticing the blond's sharp mood shift, Sasuke swallowed discreetly but still ventured the question:
"What happened?"
Naruto lowered his head and clenched his fists.
"Sakura's with Kakashi..."
The blond brusquely told the Uchiha what the clone's memories had shown.
"I won't forgive that one-eyed bastard..."
"Don't get heated," Sasuke chuckled. "He's our mentor, so Haruno's fine. She just got scared by the illusion. She'll be out for half an hour. No big deal."
"At least she won't be nagging," Sasuke added barely audibly.
"Yeah," Naruto forced a smile. He hadn't caught the last phrase. "I get it. It was just genjutsu. But... Sasuke, you didn't see her tears. She was shaking like she'd seen a shinigami, and then that scream..."
"Forget Sakura," the Uchiha interrupted. "What about the test? Think he'll walk into the trap?"
Naruto just grinned wolfishly at the question.
"Doesn't matter. If Plan A fails, we go with Plan B. We're going to him. I've still got explosive seals left, and something to surprise our sensei with."
The corner of the brunette's mouth twitched up, and he nodded understandingly. A couple of moments later, Sasuke and Naruto were racing along the upper paths to the spot where the clone had dispersed.
In the Hokage Tower, everything was as usual, unchanged. The Sandaime sat with his papers, smoking his pipe. Tazuna stood by the wall, fidgeting nervously and fiddling with his "onion" hat. He politely declined the offer to sit.
"How much longer do we wait?" the architect asked impatiently.
Sarutobi chuckled, about to reassure the client, but the door burst open and a green whirlwind rushed into the room. When the whirlwind stopped in the middle of the room, it blinded those present with a dazzling white smile.
"Team Three reporting as summoned by the Hokage! In the name of the Power of Youth, we're ready for a new mission!" The man raised his thumb and winked at Tazuna.
The architect swallowed nervously but decided to inspect the visitor.
The stranger was dressed in a green jumpsuit, Jonin flak jacket, and orange leg warmers. His standout features were massive bushy eyebrows and a bowl-cut hairstyle.
Before the architect could recover from the shock, another green whirlwind, slightly smaller, flew into the office. The teen looked at the bushy-browed man with adoring eyes, then struck an identical pose.
Looking closer, Tazuna realized the boy was practically a miniature copy of the man.
"Ick..." escaped from Tazuna.
The architect wanted to reach for the bottle in his bag but caught himself in time. He was in the Hokage's presence, after all. Tazuna shifted his gaze from one bushy-browed figure to the other, hoping it was just a mild haze from the morning sake. But the hallucinations showed no sign of leaving.
Then a boy and a girl entered calmly. The boy had strange gray pupil-less eyes, long dark chestnut hair, and bandages on his right arm and leg. He wore an ochre shirt and brown shorts. The girl had on a pink vest and blue pants. Her hair was tied into two side buns resembling panda ears. Both Genin wore forehead protectors with the Leaf symbol.
The prolonged silence was broken by the Third:
"Team Three, allow me to introduce our client: Tazuna-san, architect from the Land of Waves. Your new mission, Guy, is to escort and protect this client..."
"Don't worry, client-san, we'll get you there safe and sound," Guy declared, interrupting the Hokage.
"In the name of the Power of Youth!" the bushy-browed boy exclaimed, still holding his good-guy pose. "And if we can't get you there, we'll carry you!" the Genin finished energetically.
"Well done, Lee! We'll complete the mission at any cost!" Guy picked up his student's idea.
"Ick..." came from the architect again. His glasses slipped to the tip of his nose, threatening to fall off. He gave Sarutobi a pleading look that said: "Maybe not?"
But the Hokage was firm and just smirked.
"Don't worry, Tazuna-san," Hiruzen puffed on his pipe. "Team Guy has about twenty completed C-rank missions under their belt. They've done escort missions multiple times. Successfully, I might add. Besides, you said yourself time's short and the bridge won't build itself. Right?"
Tazuna nodded sluggishly, adjusting his glasses. He hadn't expected a normal escort team. But if the Hokage said they were experienced, then they were. A respected man wouldn't lie, right?
"When do we leave?" the architect said resignedly.
"Right now!" Guy exclaimed energetically.
"In the name of the Power of Youth, we'll finish this mission in a week!" Lee set the condition. "And if we can't, we'll do ten... no, twenty laps around Konoha on our hands!"
"Lee!" The Jonin teared up at the boy's declaration.
"Guy-sensei!" Tears welled in Lee's eyes too.
"Lee!"
"Guy-sensei!"
Teacher and student hugged tightly. The architect realized he needed to buy more sake—his current supply was too little. Way too little...
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: patreon.com/Granulan