Beside the ramen stand at the corner, a pair of silver-haired heads—one big, one small—were watching the scene unfold.
"Dad, we should get going," five-year-old Kakashi said. He wore a mask that left only his lazy-looking eyes visible, as if he had no interest at all in the little commotion just now.
But Sakumo Hatake didn't move. Only after that tiny red figure disappeared around the corner did he speak softly.
"Kakashi."
"Hm?"
A faint smile touched Sakumo's lips. "That child has something you don't."
"What?"
"The courage not to care about what other people think." Sakumo turned and started walking forward. "That child ran into the crowd not to prove anything. He just simply wanted to."
Kakashi followed after his father, silent for a moment.
"That's just stupidity."
"Maybe." Sakumo didn't argue. "But when someone takes foolishness to the extreme, sometimes it carries them farther than cleverness ever could."
Kakashi said nothing.
But his gaze drifted, almost involuntarily, toward that little path.
That small figure in the red short-sleeved shirt, the bright smile on his face as he held up his thumb—it somehow lingered in Kakashi's mind.
He shook his head and forced the image away.
...
The gates of the ninja academy were right in front of them.
Misae was practically dragging Shin-chan through the last stretch of road before finally skidding to a stop at the entrance.
"Huff... huff... we made it." She panted heavily, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "At least we're not late. Hurry up and go inside!"
Shin-chan stood there without moving, tilting his head at her.
"Mom."
"What now?"
"Where's my school bag?"
Misae froze.
"And my lunch box," Shin-chan added, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather.
The smile on Misae's face stiffened. Slowly, she lowered her head and looked at her own empty hands, then at Shin-chan's equally empty ones, muttering blankly, "Where are the school bag and lunch box?"
"By the entryway. Next to the shoe cabinet," Shin-chan reminded her.
"..."
A little cross-shaped vein mark slowly appeared on Misae's forehead.
"NOHARA SHINNOSUKE!!!"
"Yes?"
"Why didn't you remind me while we were still at home?!"
Shin-chan blinked innocently. "You didn't give me a chance to talk, Mom. You just grabbed me and ran."
The one cross on Misae's forehead turned into three.
"So you just watched me drag you all the way here without saying a word?"
Shin-chan thought about it seriously, then nodded. "Yeah. Because I thought maybe you had some kind of special plan. Like dropping me off first, then using ninjutsu to fly back and get the stuff."
"I'm not a ninja!"
"But this is Konoha Village. Aren't all grown-ups ninjas?"
Misae took a deep breath. Then another.
Then she turned and sprinted away.
"Stand right here at the gate and don't go anywhere!!!"
Her voice was already floating from dozens of meters away.
Watching her disappearing back, Shin-chan shook his head. "Adults sure have bad tempers."
Then he turned around, clasped his hands behind his back, and started looking over the ninja academy he'd never entered before.
There was a sandbox in the yard, some swings, and several training tools he'd never seen before. A few trees were planted by the wall, with benches resting beneath their shade.
"Wow, that slide is really tall."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up. He was just wondering whether he should go try it first when he spotted a little boy in a blue ninja outfit sitting on one of the benches ahead.
The boy looked about the same age as him. His black hair was neatly combed, and his features were so delicate they almost didn't seem real. His eyes were big and round, but right now he was staring at the ground with a gloomy expression.
Next to him stood a woman in a kimono, gentle-faced and soft in manner.
"Toru-chan, listen to Mommy. Today you need to get along well with your new classmates, okay?"
"Okay." His voice was tiny.
"And don't keep such a stiff face all the time. Smile more. You're a child of the Uchiha clan—you need to let people see your upbringing."
"Mm."
"If anything happens, go find the teacher, or wait for Mommy to come pick you up. Remember, you're a child of the Uchiha clan, so you must—"
"Be excellent and never bring shame to the family," the little boy finished for her, sounding just a little aggrieved. "I know."
The woman nodded in satisfaction and patted his head. "Good boy. Mommy's leaving now."
She stood up, straightened her clothes, and turned to leave.
The boy on the bench stayed exactly where he was, his shoulders drooping just a little.
Shin-chan stood three meters away and watched him for quite a while.
Then he walked over and plopped himself down right beside him.
"Hi there."
The little boy jumped in surprise and whipped his head around, meeting a smiling face.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Nohara Shinnosuke. I'm five years old, and today's my first day at school." Shin-chan propped his hands on his knees, swinging his little legs back and forth. "What about you?"
The little boy straightened his back on reflex, trying his best to put on a serious expression. "My name is Uchiha Toru."
"Uchiha?" Shin-chan tilted his head. "That pretty lady just called you Toru-chan."
"That's my mom..." Uchiha Toru pressed his lips together. He looked like he wanted to say more, but swallowed it down instead.
Shin-chan leaned closer, staring right at his face.
Uchiha Toru got uncomfortable under the gaze and shrank back a little. "What are you looking at?"
"Are you unhappy?" Shin-chan asked.
"No."
"You are." Shin-chan pointed at his eyebrows. "Right there—they're all scrunched up. My mom looks like that when she's mad too."
Uchiha Toru instinctively touched the space between his brows.
"I..." He opened his mouth. For some reason, this strange little boy made him want to talk. "I just don't want to go to ninja school."
"Why not?"
"Because..." Uchiha Toru lowered his head. "The kids here all think I'm weird. They say I'm too clean, too proper, and that I never want to play in the mud with them."
He paused, his voice growing even smaller. "I want to play too. But Mom says people from the Uchiha clan can't get their clothes dirty, can't get into fights, and always have to pay attention to their image."
Shin-chan listened seriously and nodded. "Then what do you like to play?"
"Me?" Uchiha Toru thought for a moment. "I like reading books. I like collecting cards. But nobody here wants to play those games with me."
Shin-chan blinked, then suddenly hopped off the bench, ran to stand in front of him, and stuck out his right hand.
"Then let's be friends!"
Uchiha Toru looked up and met a pair of sparkling eyes.
"My name is Nohara Shinnosuke, I'm five years old, and at home I live with my mom and a little dog named Shiro. My dad is always away on missions." Shin-chan rattled it all off in one breath.
Uchiha Toru stared blankly at the hand in front of him. No one had ever run up to him this directly and asked to be friends.
"You don't think I'm weird?"
"Weird?" Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it. "A little, yeah. But that's okay. I'm weird too. My mom says everything about me is weird."
Uchiha Toru couldn't help smiling a little. Then he reached out and took Shin-chan's hand.
"Then let's be friends."
"Yay!" Shin-chan shook his hand enthusiastically, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh, right—do you like koala cookies?"
"They're... okay?"
"Then do you have chocolate sticks at home?"
"I... I do."
"Great! Next time I go to your house, you can eat my koala cookies, and I'll eat your chocolate sticks." Shin-chan's eyes curved into crescents. "But if there are any pretty big sisters there, save them for me, okay?"
Uchiha Toru didn't understand that last sentence, but all of a sudden, today didn't seem quite so bad anymore.