After Haru did what he could to help with Reito’s burn, the two boys headed to the cafeteria for lunch, which was a necessity now that Haru was looking pale and close to keeling over.

“Wow, it’s almost completely healed,” Reito marveled, flexing his fingers as they joined the lunch queue. Almost immediately, he noticed people become alert to his presence in the large hall. “You know, I appreciate you helping, but you don’t have to eat with me. I’m not just the new kid, I’m… Well, I’m not going to be popular around here.”

“Don’t be silly,” Haru responded without hesitation. “I don’t care what people think, especially people like Akio, and you shouldn’t either. Besides, us orphans have to stick together, right?”

Reito grimaced. He supposed he was an orphan. He just hadn’t used the word to describe himself yet, even if he was living in an orphanage.

Haru smacked his right hand to his forehead. “I’m so sorry, that was dumb of me. We all throw the word around casually. Wow, I’m really making a fool of myself. I forgot to mention that I live at the orphanage too.”

“Oh, you do?”

“Yeah, I’ve seen you there, but I figured you’d want some time to settle in. Anyway, the kids there, we try to keep an eye out for one another.”

“Oh, okay,” Reito said with a sheepish grin. “That’s cool.”

Haru shrugged, “Someone’s got to, right?”

“I guess,” said Reito, suddenly aware that he hadn’t given much thought to the many other residents at the facility. Maybe he should have been making more effort to get to know people. Talking with Haru was a start. He seemed like a good guy. “So, err, how long have you lived there?”

“A few years now. It’s not so bad once you get used to it. It will be good to get out of there once I start earning some money, though, assuming I can become a Genin with my skills. You already did it, right?”

“Err, yeah,” said Reito nervously. “I’m not a Genin now, though. I have to graduate like everyone else.”

Haru nodded.

“You, err, know about me, then?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard,” the boy confirmed like it was nothing. “It must be weird for you, coming back and finding everything’s changed?”

Reito was caught off guard by Haru’s blasé attitude to his return, not to mention his sympathetic perspective on it. “You can say that again,” he replied. “I’m still waiting for someone to tell me it’s all been an illusion.”

“And you really don’t remember anything?”

Reito shook his head.

“I can’t even imagine…” said Haru, looking a little downcast.

As the lunch queue began to move along, Reito changed the subject, “Is it too much to hope the cafeteria menu has improved?”

Haru chuckled, “Sorry, I think you’re in for a disappointment!”

Once the two boys filled their lunch trays, they found a couple of empty seats at a crowded table. Within seconds, however, the table became considerably less crowded. Reito sighed. With any luck, he would only be at the academy for another two weeks, but was this what it would be like every day? People attacking him, or else fleeing at the sight of him?

“How’s the hand, killer?” snarled Akio Hino, who Reito saw coming a mile away thanks to his vivid red hair. He was joined by the two boys from before and a girl with messy shoulder-length brown hair, beady eyes, and red fang-shaped markings on her face.

Despite the provocation, Reito kept his temper in check and replied coolly, “It’s fine, thanks.” He made a point of twirling his fork with the injured hand, which stung but was worth the reaction it elicited.

Akio’s brows contracted, and he turned to Haru. “Tell me you didn’t heal him? Man, I forgot you were into that girly crap.”

“Oi!” barked the girl with the face markings, who, judging by her resemblance to Kiba, Reito deduced must be a member of the Inuzuka Clan. “Not all girls are into that wimpy healing stuff! Seriously, though, Haru, what are you doing with this kid? Don’t you know who he is?”

“I know perfectly well who he is, thanks, Tora,” said Haru patiently. “Now, can you go away, please?”

Reito wondered if he should just leave. As he had feared, Haru was getting hassled for associating with him, and that wasn’t fair.

“Wait,” exclaimed Akio, “You know who he is, and you’re still hanging out with him? That’s sick, Haru!”

“Just leave!” Haru snapped.

Reito gripped his fork tightly, trying to restrain himself. If things turned ugly, he wasn’t going to let Haru get caught up in it.

“Don’t worry, I’m leaving!” said Akio with disgust clear in his tone and on his face. “I was just looking out for you, but if you want to have lunch with the guy who got your mom killed, that’s your problem!” He and his friends then walked away, leaving Reito and Haru to deal with the fallout of his explosive statement.

Haru’s head was lowered, and his eyes were shut tightly. He looked how Reito felt, like he’d been punched in the gut.

“What did he mean by that?” Reito asked, fearful of the answer his brain was close to churning out.

“I was going to tell you later in private, back at the orphanage,” Haru said regretfully.

“Tell me what?”

Haru took a breath. “I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself properly,” he said. “My full name is Haru Daigo. My mother was your instructor.”

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The room went silent, at least for Reito. He couldn’t hear the ongoing din of the other diners, the clatter of his fork hitting the table, or whatever Haru was now saying to him. There was only white noise as unbidden memories of Amaya Sensei surfaced in his mind. The resemblance was uncanny. Why hadn’t he seen it sooner?

It was his final memory of Amaya Sensei that took precedence, the one he had been working so hard to suppress. He saw Hidan stabbing himself before she could use her Jutsu, he saw Kazuki’s deadly arrow, and he saw the blood… So much blood. Between the mental image of the woman’s brutal death, the sight of her son sitting before him, and Akio’s recent words… It was too much.

Reito got to his feet on shaky legs and walked away from the table without a word. In a daze, he found his way back to the bathroom from before, where he regurgitated his lunch in an empty stall. It was a few minutes before he had his thoughts under control. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he cursed himself for his weakness and struck out at the tiled wall over the toilet.

How was he ever going to achieve his goals like this? How was he going to master the skills needed to avenge his friends if he couldn’t even master his emotions? Haru’s revelation had taken Reito by surprise, but he couldn’t fall to pieces every time he recalled his last mission. Ninjas dealt with death all the time. What right did he have to wallow in grief when most of the village had probably lost friends and family recently?

They hadn’t let it stop them, had they? They had rebuilt Konoha from the ground up, protected it, and maintained the peace their loved ones had fought for. That was the sort of resolve Reito needed. He needed to toughen up. Quickly.

After taking a deep breath and leaning back against the stall door, it was a few seconds before Reito registered the fresh pain in his hand. Looking down, he realized his knuckles were dripping with blood, which was pooling on the floor. The wall before him now had a veritable crater in it. Shards of porcelain were scattered all around.

His mouth moved soundlessly in confusion. How many times had he hit the wall? Had anyone heard it? If someone discovered him here now, he would have more to worry about than simply being disciplined for vandalizing school property. The last thing he needed was for people to think he was dangerous, after all, or worse, a basket case not cut out for ninja life.

Reito bent down and mopped up the blood with a reem of toilet paper, rinsed his re-injured hand under cold water, and then fled the bathroom with it in his pocket. What options did he have now, though? The damage would be reported at some point, and his hand was messed up. Even if he kept it hidden, wouldn’t people just assume he was involved?

He could either cut the afternoon class with Sakura and go home early in search of some gloves, hoping she wouldn’t ponder his absence, or he could go and have her heal his hand as Haru has suggested but keep his palm turned up and hope she didn’t notice his knuckles. With a huff of frustration, Reito stopped in his tracks. Some options they were. He was being irrational.

Lacking any real desire to hide the truth about what happened, when it was so obvious he would be caught, he turned on his heel and headed for the office. He would rather just come clean and accept his punishment than put on a big charade. When he arrived at the door he mistakenly entered that morning, Reito raised his left hand to knock when it slid open unexpectedly.

“Oh, Reito?” said Sakura. “Were you looking for me?”

“Err, yeah,” Reito lied automatically. It occurred to him that telling Sakura what happened would be easier than reporting to one of the other teachers. He wasn’t sure he could handle one of Iruka Sensei’s looks of disappointment right now.

“Well, I’m just on the way to set up for class, come with me.”

“Sure,” said Reito, and he followed the young woman to a classroom a couple of doors down, which was full of tall, long tables, arranged in a U-shape, noticing that she was wearing a white coat over her clothes.

“Is everything okay?” Sakura asked as they entered the room, “You look a bit peaky.”

“Erm, no, actually,” Reito admitted. “I…hurt my hand.” Holding on to the idea that she might not notice, he removed his hand from his pocket palm up, but the girl immediately flipped it over as she inspected it.

“Who did this to you?” she asked with a frown.

“No one,” Reito insisted. “It was me. I did it myself. I didn’t mean to, but I punched a hole in the wall of one of the bathrooms. I was coming to the office to report it.”

“And this burn?”

Reito shrugged in reply.

Sakura didn’t look happy but didn’t press the issue. Instead, she focused on healing his hand, which she did in what seemed like no time compared to Haru. “How does it feel?”

“Good,” said Reito, flexing his fingers and feeling for any evidence of the recent cuts or blisters.

“Now, do you want to tell me what happened? I can see there are two injuries here and that someone else already tried to help you.”

Mildly impressed by Sakura’s diagnostic ability, Reito silently cast his gaze downward. “I guess I lost my head for a minute,” he mumbled.

“Okay. And what do you think brought that on?”

Reito lowered his voice to a whisper, “The boy who helped me out… His mom… Amaya Sensei…”

There was sudden comprehension in Sakura’s emerald eyes, and she clapped a hand to her forehead. “Haru Daigo…” she mouthed. “Reito, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how it slipped my mind, he’s one of my students. I should have warned you he would be here!”

Reito shrugged again while shaking his head, still staring at the floor, afraid that his facade would crack if he met the girls’ eyes right now.

“Listen, I’m just going to let a colleague know about the bathroom situation, but there are exceptional circumstances here, Reito. You’re not going to be in any trouble, alright?” said Sakura, handing Reito a textbook. “Stay here, please, and get started on reading this.”

The boy couldn’t focus on the textbook. He must have read the opening line twenty times before Sakura returned. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he had resigned himself to being punished. He deserved it, if not for the vandalism, then for so many other reasons.

“The damage isn’t as bad as it looks, Reito. It can be fixed easily enough, and that bathroom isn’t used as heavily as others, so it can be sealed off while the work is done without much fuss,” Sakura explained. “There’s no reason for anyone else to know what happened, okay?”

Reito nodded in understanding. It was a relief, knowing he wouldn’t become subject to gossip.

“Do you want to go home for the day?”

“No! I’m fine,” Reito protested, though he wasn’t sure why. Leaving was exactly what he wanted to do, but something was holding him back. Shame perhaps? Shame over what he had done. Or was it the shame of being perceived as so fragile he needed to be sent home?

“Alright, but in lieu of punishment, I’m going to set you extra homework, okay?”

Extra homework? Was that all?

“Out of interest, Reito, what sort of Jutsu did you use on the wall?”

He frowned at this in response. “Jutsu? I-I just punched it. More times than I realized, I guess. I don’t really remember; I was kinda out of it.”

Sakura looked skeptical of his answer but didn’t question it. “Well, we haven’t got long until the lesson begins. We’re doing a quick test with the Mystical Palm, which you can observe, but after that, we’re making Food Pills, which you’ll be able to join in with,” she said. “Regarding Haru, though. He will be here. Is that okay?”

“It’s fine. He’s fine. It’s me that’s the problem,” said Reito, trying to imagine what it must be like for Haru to have him around, a constant reminder of what the boy had lost. “Maybe my being here isn’t fair to him?”

“Haru already knew you would be here, Reito, and he had no objections. Lady Tsunade met privately with the relatives of Team Four before the Town Hall meeting.”

For what felt like the hundredth time in recent memory, Reito felt foolish. Of course they would have been briefed. It was obvious, so why hadn’t it occurred to him? So much for his supposed analytical prowess.

“It was my responsibility to inform you about Haru,” Sakura confessed. “I really dropped the ball there, I’m sorry.”

Reito shrugged. He wasn’t sure knowing in advance would have made a difference. Judging by his reaction to learning of Haru’s identity, dealing with it with one sharp shock was probably better than dragging it out. Now, he would be better prepared for any other surprises that might come his way. He hoped so, anyway.