The wind felt cool against his face as he raced through the sidewalks, chucking newspapers at doormats with a routine precision. He shifted, bearing more of his weight forward to go faster with one hand on his satchel bag all the while. He reached the hill he had been preparing for and raced up, farther than the highest point of the hill. He sailed, steadying himself for the fall. With a small victorious smirk, he landed safely and continued down the neighborhood street at a much more leisurely pace.
His favorite part of the job was coming up. The house he loved to deliver to. He could see it just over the horizon. He took a deep breath and slowed his bike down even more, tossing newspapers in a calmer, almost refined manner. His eyes never left his favorite house. He could already see the faded blue paneling on the home that complemented the array of flowers surrounding it, the large white-framed windows with dark gray curtains protecting the interior. The one large oak tree stood strong in the backyard, swaying slightly with the breeze. Oh yes, he loved this house.
Not for the paneling, not for the flowers, or the windows, and certainly not the oak tree. No, he loved this house for the tiny lone window towards the front door that was always open. Quite literally, always. The strange man who lived there never closed it, even though he probably knew damn well what was going to happen as soon as he got to that window. Often, Naruto wondered why the loony bin didn't just close the window if he was just going to stick his head out the front door and yell at him every morning, like he has for the past seven months. Maybe it's part of his morning routine now, too. Oh well.
Naruto debated on picking up the pace and pelting the newspaper straight through the window and racing off without ever slowing down, like he always does. But today, he thought, today he wanted to really bask in the anger of the window man. He wanted to get a good look at his face, rather than simply hearing his voice through the dust he left behind him. So, he did. He stopped his bike dead in front of the open window, closing his eyes and listening to the occasional bird chirp and the leaves rustling in the wind.
A second passed, and then two.
Then he opened his eyes. He aimed and fired. The newspaper whizzed through the air, twirling slightly, before diving through the open window. There was a consecutive crash, presumably of a vase or cup shattering, and then silence. Naruto waited almost excitedly, certain no one was harmed other than some inanimate object, seeing as there was no scream of pain. He pushed his short blond hair back and closed his eyes, a small smile on his face as he waited for the window man to stick his out of the front door.
A second passed, and then two.
Then he opened his eyes. He suppressed a worried frown. Silence continued to meet him. The window man was nowhere to be seen, let alone heard.