Saw the strangest thing in Kumo, by the way. I saw this kid pass me by on the street and I could have sworn I had seen him before. Wasn't until I got back to the hotel that it hit me - he reminded me of Zabuza. Must have been the face. Didn't have any eyebrows, that's not exactly common.

You remember him, don't you? Momochi Zabuza, he was one of the Swordsmen. They used to call him the Demon. He died about 30 years ago, I think. Tough guy, hell of a glare.

Wouldn't be surprised if you forgot, though. Most people don't even remember him any more, much less know who he was - I only do because he hired me for that coup. I wouldn't forget that, I got locked up for it until Terumi became Mizukage. You remember that, at least, don't you?

Feels so long ago now, doesn't it? What with the new government, especially. They barely even talk about the Bloody Mist in history books any more, just the bloodline genocide. That propaganda bullshit. Kids don't know anything about the past these days.

I guess I'm just getting old. Not nostalgic, just old. My eyes aren't what they used to be.

- Hibai Sammi, from a letter to a comrade in the Land of Mist; June, 22 AU

ACT 2

ECHO

Chapter 4 - Spotlight Shift

Karai couldn't control herself, when Sasuke returned home from training the genin that day. She hugged him tightly, shouting, "Father!" and rubbing her face into his flak jacket.

He laid a hand on her back, before prying the girl off of him. "Karai."

She bit her lip. What had he told her about such things? "I'm sorry, Father, it's just… I'm so happy right now!" she said. And only part of it was due to his arrival back home.

(Even though the house had been so mercifully quiet in his absence, like it always was.)

"Mm. Did something happen while I was away?" Sasuke asked. Oh, she nodded so enthusiastically. "Well, what is it?"

She grinned so hard, bubbling with happiness, as if she might burst from it. "Masao-sensei said that my team an' I could take part in the chuunin exams!"

Sasuke already knew. "Oh. I thought something else had happened."

As it happened, he had just returned from telling his team the exact same news.

Naruto had called all of the actively-teaching jounin together just the day before to announce that the chuunin exams were to occur in about a month, and that if anyone had any considerations in mind then now would be the time to put them in, so they could spend the weeks getting their students trained up and prepared.

The chuunin exams were structured much like they had always been. A written exam. An elimination round with scrolls in the Forest of Death. And a tournament.

(Inou didn't get through the Forest the first time. It was the preliminaries that got him, the second. But the Akimichi girl got promoted to chuunin that year.)

The big differences in the exam those days was in how the written exam was handled - since, well, they had a different chief examiner every few years - and in the additional time in between the announcement of the exams and the actual exams, for preparation. Naruto believed in proper warning, and also, it took longer to get answers back from the other countries about which genin teams they were sending and stuff. It was good to have a little leeway, y'know? Kept things friendly.

Plus, the tournaments were damn enormous events, now. Though not nearly as many hidden villages participated in the exams these days - Cloud and Mist and Stone had been far more cooperative in recent years, in fact - the ninja that did participate were broadly supported. And with that support came Kages, and with those Kages came bodyguards and families and countless civilians, come to cheer on their best and brightest.

And there was also that jinchuuriki meet-up reunion thing that Naruto liked to have around the time of the tournament, but those guys could more than take care of themselves.

Regardless of all of that, Sasuke had only to think for a moment, when Naruto called him and the only other sensei of a first-year genin team forward - wasn't that one of Naruto's old students? Masa-something, a young man that was Hajime's age. Sasuke couldn't remember his name, even though he more than remembered the name of the girl on that team.

Murasaki. The one that unsettled even Sasuke, with her whisper voice and sick mind. He ran into her a disturbingly frequent amount; he'd forgotten how many times he'd had to chase her out of the Uchiha Memorial, where she was most certainly not welcome. But she kept coming back, she always kept coming back, with her messages from the voices that she said she heard, with her lies.

Even though Sakura told him to be understanding, she was unwell.

(At least she had stopped coming by the main house, asking for…)

But back to the matter at hand.

Naruto had a pleased smile on his face, seeing Sasuke there. Yes, there were only two jounin teaching first-year genin. All the other students had been sent back, for further training.

Hm. So they had been the best.

And Sasuke smiled, slightly, and pledged on the name of his clan that all three of his students were ready to make an attempt at the exams.

Their competence had surprised him, but then again, they had been under his care for quite a while, at that point. If they hadn't improved at all, then he would be truly disappointed.

Naruto's student, the young man with gold-coin eyes, swore on his clan, the Akirame, that his three students were also ready for the chuunin exams.

So he was Karai's sensei, Sasuke realized. Karai was one of the six that had remained. Good girl.

Sasuke's team had reacted as expected, when he told them the news the next morning: overenthusiastic utter glee, a shivering but gently confident smile, and closed eyes paired with a knowingly pleased expression. Though, predictable as they were, they still managed to surprise him sometimes. Usually in pleasant ways.

Kyou memorized things quickly, never repeating his mistakes. He'd even managed to cut down on his gossip and chattering, once Sasuke learned to stop ignoring him and just say when he was talking too much. He found himself even asking Kyou things, now. Since, really, he seemed to know just about everything, at times. Even Sasuke had learned a few new things from him. Who knew?

Sunao had some of the best chakra control he had ever seen, and remarkable patience, not just with learning, but with her teammates. More often than not, she'd be the first to master a new technique, and instead of standing off to the side and fiddling about like Sasuke expected most girls her age to do, she'd go off and help whichever of her teammates Sasuke wasn't working with, to make sure that they were getting it, too.

And… the way that Go'on moved. It left Sasuke speechless, recording every movement he could with his Sharingan. That boy could run.

Sasuke was impressed by his students, almost proud of them, but he would never really admit it aloud.

He put his hand on Karai's head, back in the foyer of his home. She had been saying something about no, no, it was the chuunin exams she was talking about, wasn't that just exciting?

"I expected nothing less of you," he told her. "Hopefully, I'll see both you and your brother promoted to chuunin this time." He didn't have to specify which. "I don't want to be disappointed."

All Karai did was nod, smiling, giggling, savoring his approval.

(She could feel bad for Inou later.)

"Speaking of which," Sasuke continued, "where is he?"

(Inou was making himself invisible in his room, having heard his father come home.)

"He's off with his team," Karai said.

"Mm." Sasuke sat down, and he began taking off his shoes. He'd given a sharp glance to Inou's sensei, the day before. And Inou's team had been nominated, as expected, for the exams themselves.

"So nice to see you home so soon, Father."

And Sasuke smiled. "Does it really seem like I'm home that early?" he asked.

"You tell me. You're usually so busy training those students of yours. They must be improving, if you feel it appropriate to give them a break."

Sasuke undid the strap on his second shoe, thoughtfully, taking his time. "Improved enough to participate in the chuunin exams this year," he said, and looked over his shoulder at Takeru, who stood with a hand on his hip, smiling as well. "I thought it would be nice to give them an afternoon off to tell their families."

"Oh, wow, really, Father?" Karai said.

"That's a surprise," Takeru said.

"Why a surprise?" Sasuke stood, and began walking down the hall with his son. "They've been making excellent progress."

He didn't really notice that Karai was lingering in the foyer.

(She already knew her father couldn't hear her.)

"Well, it's just kids these days. Graduating so late," Takeru said. He glanced, ever so briefly, at Karai, the oldest graduate in the family, at the age of eleven. "You'd think that if they took that long to graduate they'd take even more time to train further."

Takeru was nineteen years old. He had graduated from the academy when he was eight.

"Don't be so sure of that," Sasuke said, chuckling slightly. "Not everyone's nearly as talented as you, Takeru."

Never mind the fact that Hajime had graduated when he was ten, Inou at the same age, seven years later.

(And Sasuke when he was twelve, all those years ago.)

Nadeshiko didn't count.

"Ah, I suppose it's true…" Takeru said, sighing dramatically. Sasuke chuckled. "Though, Father, I wouldn't get your hopes up too terribly. They'll probably fail the first time around."

"We'll just have to see," Sasuke replied. "I won't be too heartbroken if that's what comes to pass, though."

Though he wouldn't be terribly astonished if at least one his students passed, during those exams, and became a chuunin. They had a way of surprising him.

"Just means they didn't try hard enough, eh, Father?" said Takeru.

Takeru, who had passed the chuunin exams on his first try, when he was eleven.

Sasuke nodded, in agreement. And the two of them were at the end of the hallway, near the sliding door the led to the courtyard. It was open slightly, letting a breeze through. Ino was putting up laundry.

"Up for a little sparring, then, Father?" Takeru's smile was so much like Sasuke's, full of ambition.

"Of course, son. Any time."

Together, they walked to the training ground.

Halfway across the city, at the gates, there was a boy with red hair and a rucksack. His clothes were simple, made of plain cloth, a belted robe and a pair of trousers. He was yelling for assistance.

Well, not exactly assistance, but he sure was yelling for something.

And he had a very loud voice.

The two guards on duty didn't quite know what to make of it.

"What did you say you wanted, again?" said the younger of the two, a man with sheepish black eyes and sheepish black hair named Yamada.

"Like I said, where do I go to become a ninja?" the boy said, again. "There's gotta be someone I can talk to, yeah?"

The two guards looked at each other again. "I… still don't know what you want, kid," said Yamada, rubbing the back of his head almost apologetically.

"You idiot, he's probably talking about the chuunin exams," whispered the other, smacking his partner on the back.

"Ouch! Sorry…"

The other guard, named Hatsumoto, addressed the boy in a louder voice. "The chuunin exams don't start for a few weeks." The memo had just come in, and Hatsumoto had memorized it. Yamada still flubbed at times. "Besides, which hidden village are you from, anyways?"

"Hidden village? What? My village isn't hidden. That is not what I meant." The boy sighed, groaned, rolled his eyes. "Look, who's the boss around here? You guys have, like, a Hokage, yeah?"

"Uh… yeah," said Yamada.

"So take me to see him already! Since you guys are pretty much no help whatsoever."

The guards looked at each other. Again. "Well, I dunno," said Yamada. "Y'think we should let him in and see what the Nanadaime has to say?"

Hatsumoto smacked him again, this time on the back of the head. "Idiot. The Hokage's busy. We can send a message to him if you really need to but otherwise you're just gonna have to wait," he told the boy.

"Then who the heck is gonna help me out here?" the boy said. He dropped his rucksack on the ground and crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes and scowling. "Look, I traveled all this way, and I'm not gonna be turned away without getting somewhere, yeah?"

"We… never said we were gonna turn you away," said Yamada. He was rubbing the back of his head again. "We just wanna find out what you need."

"How many times do I have to say it?" the boy said, waving his arms for emphasis. "I want to be a ninja!"

Yamada blinked. "Wait, so you're a civilian?"

Hatsumoto smacked him on the back of the head again, hissing, "Idiot. If he's not here for the chuunin exams, then, of course he's a civilian." Back to the boy. "Listen, how old are you?"

"I turned sixteen in April."

His voice was awfully high. "Your real age, kid."

"I told you, I'm sixteen." He sighed. "So I'm small for my age, yeah? Big freaking deal."

Yamada was convinced, and Hatsumoto wasn't. But they continued anyways. "Your parents know you're here?" Hatsumoto said.

"Uh, yeah. I wouldn't be here if they didn't."

"Sure. And… why do you want to become a ninja, kid?" said Hatsumoto, crossing his arms and leaning back into his seat. He was a lean man, and his nose was set into his face like a knife stuck into a cutting board.

"So I can achieve my greatest dream. Duh," said the boy, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I saved up enough money to move to Konoha an' start my training. So here I am, yeah? So where do I go? You can answer that, can't you?"

"You… want me to take him to the academy?" Yamada offered, after exchanging glances with Hatsumoto. He was newer than Hatsumoto, and only by a little bit, but he was not terribly afraid to show it.

"No, idiot, you stay here, I'm taking him to the records office so we can get him registered as a student or something. You have to do that first. Since it sounds like you plan on staying here for a while," he said, standing, looking at the boy critically. "You do have papers on you, right?"

"…'course I have papers. I'm not an idiot," said the boy, thinking for a moment, then scoffing. He grabbed his rucksack, light in his dark blue eyes. "Well come on, let's go already, yeah?"

"I'll hold down the fort, then," Yamada said, smiling. "Good luck!"

The boy was practically skipping as Hatsumoto led him toward the center of the city.

"So my dad sat me down about a month ago, an' he said, 'Son, you're old enough to decide things for yourself. And your brother' - his name's Hiroyuki, by the way, he's my older brother - 'is already taking over the farm, so what do you want to do?'"

The boy, who had identified himself as Hanamura Yukio, was telling his life story to Hatsumoto as they walked together to the records office.

"And, well, I had always dreamed of being a ninja or something, yeah? I played with toy shuriken and things when I was little, read all the stories about the legendary warriors. Y'know, that kinda stuff. So I was, like, 'Well, Dad, there's that ninja village a few days journey away from here. I wanna go live there and be trained to be a ninja.' And we argued about that for a while, but then he said, 'Okay, I understand.' So then he wrote me a letter for you guys and gave me some money to tide me over to go with my savings and then I went and left! So here I am."

"…you talk fast, kid," was Hatsumoto's conclusion.

"I get that a lot, yeah," was Yukio's reply.

There had indeed been a letter, written in a carefully sloppy hand, summarized thusly: "I place my son, Hanamura Yukio, in the care of Konohagakure as he undergoes training to become a ninja." It was woefully scanty by Hatsumoto's standards, but when dealing with bumpkins, you had to take what you could get. The government would accept it, at any rate.

"So, like, after we go through here and I get registered and stuff, what do I do?" Yukio asked.

"Well, generally, we'll get you checked out at the academy too. Do some diagnostic tests, see your skill level. You… do know the basics of ninjutsu at least, right?" Yukio thought for a moment, then uneasily shook his head. Hatsumoto sighed. "Well, whatever. And you will need a place to stay. Anyone you know who lives here?"

"Not… really."

"Well, you'll have to rent an apartment or get a hotel room or something, then. You said you had money. How much?"

Yukio's eyes slid to the side, staring at the wall. "That's none of your business."

"We can't have you sleeping on the streets, kid. How much."

"…enough. Okay?" Yukio rolled his eyes. Hatsumoto did also. Wow, this kid.

They had almost reached the record office when there was a voice down the hallway, behind them.

"He-ey! Matsumoto-san!"

Hatsumoto stopped in his tracks. "That's Hatsumoto, sir." He didn't bother looking back, as Naruto was by his side within a few moments, dressed in his usual orange track jacket and holding a pair of thin books in his hands.

"Oh, sorry, man. I keep messing it up. Anyways - who's this?" He blinked a few times at Yukio, who blinked back.

"Hanamura Yukio, sir. An immigrant from…?" The boy hadn't really specified yet.

"The Land of Rice," Yukio completed, a vaguely suspicious look on his face.

"Ohh. The Land of Rice," Naruto echoed. Man, when was the last time he had heard - oh! When Sasuke had come back from that mission with his genin team. Man, those guys were always together, these days. It really warmed his heart. And Ino seemed so happy about it, too. And Sakura wasn't bothering him about it, either! Totally great, on all accounts. "That's cool."

There was a moment of silence. And then, from Hatsumoto: "You needed something, sir?"

"Oh, yeah! I have a favor to ask of you, can you spare a moment?" Naruto continued, grinning. "I can't seem to find Andou-kun anywhere."

"I'm in the middle of something, sir," Hatsumoto replied.

"Yeah? Like?"

"…I'm escorting Hanamura-san to the records office so he can be registered as a student, sir." And he had a tough enough time with Yamada.

"Oh! I can do that for you, y'know," Naruto replied, with a sunny smile. "Trade roles?"

Hatsumoto considered this for a second. "What did you need me to do, sir?"

"Just take these books over to Kenji-kun, down at the hospital? They're a present from his sister, I ran into her just now on her way out but I don't have any time to get them to him myself." He held up the books; they looked like comics, and they had pictures of a woman on the cover with green spots all over her face like mold, or moss.

Well, it was preferable to having to deal with paperwork. "Sure, though… which Kenji, sir?"

"Haruno Kenji, who else?" A pause. "You know, the one that works at the hospital," Naruto added. He waved his other hand for emphasis, wa-ay up high. "The tall guy, y'know?"

Ah, yes. Him. "I'll take care of it, sir," Hatsumoto said, taking the books from his Hokage and going on his way. Yes, much more preferable.

Yukio and Naruto stood in the hallway together for a while, in silence, before either of them spoke.

As it happened, their words were simultaneous and identical: "So who are you, again?"

Naruto was the one who recovered first, after the two of them lapsed into giggles. "Oh, well, I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. And your name's Yukio, right?"

Yukio nodded. "Yup. Hanamura Yukio. Nice to meet you, Uzumaki-san."

"I could say the same about you, Hanamura-kun."

"Pff, okay, first off? You don't need to call me Hanamura-kun. I was gonna tell that other guy off but he just seemed like such a stick in the mud," the boy said. "It makes me sound like I'm some weird… important guy. Call me Yukio, yeah?"

"Well then you can just call me Naruto, y'know? Even though I guess I am a weird important guy of sorts."

Yukio grinned, and so did Naruto, and they agreed to it simultaneously. They both thought it was hilarious.

"So," Yukio said, finally, "you that guy's boss or something?"

"So-omething like that," Naruto replied, laughing. "Hey, so you're moving here from the Land of Rice, huh?"

"So-omething like that," Yukio replied, smirking. "I was being taken to get registered or something."

"Ah, yeah, we should probably do that. Here, this way!" Naruto said, and pointed down the hallway toward the records office. "So, uh, why are you moving out here, anyways?"

And Yukio told him the whole story, with his brother and his father and how he just "wanted to be a freakin' ninja, yeah?" And Naruto nodded and listened with crossed arms and laughed at his enthusiasm, and the boy filled out papers, and showed the nice lady behind the counter the letter from his father, and paid for his processing fees with wrinkled bills from his pocket, and stood aside to get his photo taken. Cheese!

When he was all done, Naruto got an idea. "Oh, yeah, I can have this approved right here!" he said, pounding his fist into his hand. "Y'think I could use a red pen or something instead of a stamp?"

The records attendant behind the desk blinked. "I… do have a red pen on me, but don't you think you should wait and use your official seal, sir?" she said. "It won't take long for the paperwork to get to your office." Not with Andou around, goodness could that boy skedaddle.

"Na-ah, I only use that seal 'cos it's faster than writing my name all the time, y'know," Naruto said, and laughed. "C'mon, hand it over."

The attendant thought for a moment, shrugged, and handed him the pen, shoving the papers across the desk at him. "Whatever you say, sir."

Naruto wrote his signature quickly and roughly, and underlined it after the fact, as if to prove a point. "Well, Yukio-kun? You are now, officially, a citizen of Konohagakure. Welcome!"

"Technically, he's something of a ward of the state, sir, since he's under twenty," the attendant corrected. "This is only a student visa, besides…."

"Eh, you're still a citizen to me!" Naruto said, hugging Yukio warmly around the shoulder. "We should head to the academy next, I think. I kinda wanna see what you got, y'know!"

"Hell yes!" said Yukio, clenching his fist. "Man, I am so excited!"

"I'll get this filed away for you, sir," said the attendant, taking the papers back with something like a shy smile. Typical Hokage…

"Thanks!" Naruto said, giving her a thumbs up, and really meaning it, too. "C'mon, let's go!"

The Hokage and the boy sprinted out together, toward the academy, steps in near-perfect sync.

It should not be found terribly surprising that, by the end of the night, Naruto had volunteered to take Yukio into his home until further notice.

Well, at least until he found his own place to live. Whichever came first.

The diagnostic test at the academy went by swiftly, after finding a chuunin with the time and experience to administer the test in the first place. Yukio surprised everyone with a loose yet forceful natural fighting style. Of sorts. Well, whatever the heck it was.

He also had, as the chuunin examiner so eloquently put it, "Shit-loads of chakra." Yukio was very proud of this, once he had it explained to him.

He still had literally no experience in ninjutsu and anything else requiring chakra control, but, well, he would probably take quickly to it. They'd find a teacher for him within the next few days, to which Naruto and Yukio both responded with a hearty "All RIGHT!"

That was about when Yukio finally noticed that everyone was calling Naruto "sir" and stuff, not just the guys at the record office, and he asked what was up with that, anyways.

And that was how Yukio found out that Naruto was the Hokage. The Hokage. Like, the boss.

Which was, instantly, the Coolest Thing Ever. The actual Hokage. The head honcho. The BOSS. Basically, a pretty cool guy. One of those weird, important types.

And that was when Naruto laughed and declared Yukio the bee's knees, and high fives were exchanged, and then Naruto decided to show Yukio the city.

Never mind the fact that he was supposed to be "too busy." He'd be able to catch up on his paperwork at home, that was a given. This was Important.

And somehow, while walking together, somewhere past the Hyuuga compound, the conversation was brought to living situations. Yukio was alone, underage and without a guardian, and the city would be able to find an apartment for him, if he wanted to wait a night or two. Naruto refused to let him stay in a hotel. "That'd just be rude, y'know?"

And besides, he didn't really mind the prospect of acting as Yukio's guardian until further notice. The kid was really growing on him, and despite having truly known him for only a few hours, it felt as if they had known each other since he was very small.

Yukio did not mind this at all.

Which is what brought the two of them to Naruto's house. It wouldn't be for more than a day or two, but it was the least he could do to help out such a great kid, in so many words.

Yukio's eyes were not exactly wide, but darting, up and down, left and right, taking in every detail as Naruto opened the door for him.

So that was the kind of house a Hokage lived in.

(It was nothing like home.)

"You can put your shoes anywhere," Naruto said, kicking his own off in the foyer and turning on the light.

"Oh, thanks! Again, haha," Yukio replied. He bent over and started taking off one of his sandals, carefully, holding the shoe in his hand.

Naruto stared. "Why so formal?"

Yukio blinked, shoe in his palm. "Formal?"

"With the shoes. You're my guest, y'know. My house is yours! You can just kick 'em off, I won't care."

Yukio was silent, thinking. Then, a little smile bloomed on his face, like a paper flower in a bowl of water. He straightened up, put his shoe back on, and then kicked them both off unceremoniously, like Naruto had done.

Naruto laughed so hard he had to wipe the tears out of his eyes. "Oh, man, I didn't mean literally, y'know!"

"I know. I just felt like it. Your house is mine, yeah?" Yukio said, and adjusted his rucksack on his shoulder, smirking. "I'm lettin' loose."

"Pff. I guess you are! C'mon, let's head to the kitchen," Naruto said, and stepped out of the foyer, down the hallway. "I'm really feelin' like some dinner right about now."

"Oh, dinner?" Yukio said, following behind, eyes on every detail that passed. "Well, I am a little hungry… but you shouldn't waste your money on me. That's too much."

"Hey, now! Where are your manners?" Naruto continued, turning the lights on in the kitchen. It was clean, save for a few bowls in the sink, and an odor of broth that seemed to linger in the air almost tangibly. "C'mon, lemme get you something. Part of your welcome package, y'know?" He laughed and opened the fridge, and peered around experimentally, eyes narrowed. There was very little in there, aside from maybe a questionably fresh carton of milk and lunch meats. Uhh… "What are you in the mood for?"

Please don't ask for something homemade, ple-ease don't.

"I'm not picky. I can eat just about anything, yeah?" Yukio replied, grinning.

"Well, great! Let's get ramen, then." Naruto slammed the fridge door shut, and clapped his hands together, smiling widely. "Y'wanna drop your stuff off before we go? I could show you the rest of the city, when we're done, y'know."

"Uh… sure! Sounds awesome!" Yukio said, blinking. "Where can I…?"

"Here, over here." Naruto gestured with his hand, walking out of the kitchen and down another hallway. "I got a guest room, but I hardly use it. You can stay there." He turned the light on and let Yukio walk in.

It was a plain room, no-frills, with a bed, a chair, the usual. "Sorry if it smells weird or anything." As a matter of fact, it smelled very nice. At least, to Yukio. To Naruto, it just smelled strange, foreign and feminine. "It's… usually my daughter who stays here. She's left some stuff behind. Hope it's not too girly." There were dolls on the dresser, floral prints on the walls.

"It's fine." Yukio dropped his bag on the chair. "You have a daughter? Does she not live with you?"

"Well, sorta," Naruto replied. He scratched the back of his head, laughing once, twice. "It's… complicated. She lives in another country. With her mom, y'know."

"No, I… don't know." Yukio blinked once, twice. "Did you guys separate or…?"

"Nah, it's not that, we were never really together…" Naruto was looking at the ceiling. "Well, we were together but not in that way, y'know. It's all politics and stuff. I only see her, like, every now and then." He laughed. "'Cos I made a promise, y'know… Yeah…"

Yukio shrugged. He'd seen stranger families, stranger situations.

They stood in silence, for a while, in the girl's room, with the dolls and the floral prints from the Land of Demons.

"…so we were gonna get some ramen, yeah?" Yukio said.

"Yeah! We totally were," Naruto replied.

Together, they left.

Though Yukio tried to steal Naruto's shoes on the way out.

"Your shoes are my shoes too, yeah?"

His feet were almost the exact same size as Naruto's, and his smile was incredibly big.