It had only been a few days since I returned to the village—two if I didn’t count the night we arrived. I hadn’t left my house for the first couple of days, focusing on getting my apartment up and running instead. With a vacuum cleaner and feather duster in hand, I set out to eliminate the dust cover that had settled over practically everything.

Today, the early summer morning was bright, with a pleasantly cool breeze. It wouldn’t stay that way for long, though. People had already hung up wet clothes the night before in anticipation of the coming heat and I’d dressed for it, wearing a white shirt with the swirling Hidden Whirlpool emblem at its centre along with thin, black shorts.

I swept my eyes over the winding streets and alleys, searching for three particular people; they were the reason I was hanging about near the Academy. It took me fifteen minutes to find them—they were taller now, and walked with a little more confidence, but were as childish as always.

Grinning, I dropped down, landing in front of them. They froze, cautious for a split-second before recognition and then joy split their faces.

“Naruto!”

I wasn’t even standing straight when they mobbed me. “Relax, guys, but yeah… I’m back.”

Ko was the first to step back, red hair tied into a loose bun. “When did you get back?”

“A couple of days ago,” I replied, extracting myself from Nori and Haruto. “This is the first time I’ve left my house since getting back.”

“How was it?” Haruto asked, grey eyes peering at me with obvious curiosity. His hair had grown into a messy side part curling outward across from his eyebrows.

“The mission?”

Nori nodded, brushing dark coils out of his eyes.

“Let’s walk for a while.”

I fell back, watching them fan out in front of me. School kids rushed by to the Academy and yawning parents waved them off further down the street. While the three of them were caught up in the excitement of learning about my mission, I wondered what I should even tell them. They knew what kind of life they were signing up for—the Academy made sure of that—and in a year, they too would go out and take human life.

But was it wrong of me to want to spare them of it for a little while longer?

See, part of me felt responsible for luring them into this life all those years ago and I’d become a strange role model in the time since. They came to me whenever they had trouble in school for advice, for notes, or just to vent.

I sighed. “My mission was to eliminate a rogue group that had taken over a village on the northern border of our country.”

They fell back immediately, walking at my sides with barely suppressed glee.

“We spent a week travelling, camping out under the stars or in caves whenever we found them. It was similar to the camping trips back in the Academy, except we didn’t have any challenges to do. You could almost convince yourself it was a holiday.”

“Almost?” Haruto asked.

“Almost.” I smiled at him. “When we reached Tenka Village, it all sunk in. We rented a room, and the very next morning, went to have breakfast with the village’s chief to confirm the mission’s details. After that, Choji and I hit the streets and started investigating all day.”

“Did you find out anything important,” Nori asked.

“Yep. I ended up talking to this lady whose husband was killed by the rogues. She was suspicious of me because apparently, a group of hooded people arrived a week before us and she thought they were Hidden Leaf ninja.”

I knew I had them hooked now, using the silence as a way to best figure out how to tell the rest of the story.

“The idea that there could be enemy shinobi hunting the rogues—or us—was pretty serious, but it wouldn’t change our plans too much. We woke up at the crack of dawn and made our move on the rogues’ outpost and just as we were about to head back, we were ambushed.”

“By who?” Ko asked.

“Zabuza Momochi and his comrades, all rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist.”

Nori frowned. “Who’s that again? He sounds familiar.”

“Idiot,” Ko huffed, “he’s one of seven ninja famous for mastering the First Mizukage’s legendary blades. Wait… he’s a jonin!”

I nodded. “He wasn’t alone either. He had the Demon Brothers with him, they’re two chunin, and a woman was wearing a Mist Village ANBU mask.”

Haruto gaped. “How did you guys win?”

“That's the funny thing,” I said with a smile, “my sensei fought Zabuza, taking the fight away from us, and Choji and Hinata fought the Demon Brothers.”

“So, you fought the ANBU lady?” Ko asked.

“I did—and I beat her too. Hinata and Choji beat the Demon Brothers and I used the ANBU lady as a hostage. If Zabuza wanted me to return her, he had to leave us be.”

“Did he?” Haruto asked.

I nodded.

“Woah…”

I could see the excitement and awe growing on their faces.

Ko's eyes widened with disbelief as she realized just how dangerous the situation had been, the weight of what I was saying clearly sinking in. Nori was deep in thought, his brows furrowed and Haruto's face practically lit up, a mix of admiration and excitement in his eyes as he hung on every word.

I felt a strange mix of pride and concern at their reactions. They were still so young, so eager to prove themselves, but they had no idea what they were really in for. It was all stories and legends to them, something thrilling and just out of reach, even with the Academy’s programming.

If I could, I wanted to protect that innocence for just a little while longer, to keep them from realizing that the stories weren't as glamorous as they seemed.

I smiled. “Skip school and come with me.”

I’d grown to care less and less for school as the years went on thanks to finding a better teacher in Asuma. It seemed, in a strange way, that those three had found a better teacher in me as well. With my notes to study from, classes stopped being a chore, so it wasn’t like skipping a day would hurt them much—still, I noticed the worry in Haruto’s eyes.

“Don’t worry,” I said with a smile, “you’d have to miss a lot more than a day for them to contact your mother.”

Ko snickered. “You would know. Mizuki-sensei uses you as an example of the kind of student not to be.”

“Well… grades and titles don’t have much to do with your actual strength, anyway.” I stood tall and folded my arms.

She gave me a mock salute and I walked past her rolling my eyes. “Where are we going?”

I stared at a particular spot in the wall where the paint protruded outward in the vague shape of a child. “I can see you, you know? Come out while I’m still being nice.”

The camouflage cover dropped to reveal Konohamaru, scarf and all—but he’d given up on his weird helmet, it seemed.

He nodded appreciatively, not upset in the slightest that I’d caught him. “As expected of you, Naruto Uzumaki.”

I blinked. “How do you even know my name?” He opened his mouth but I interjected, “Right, Lord Third. Dumb question.”

He smirked. “As expected of you, Naruto Uzumak—”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that. Why are you here, kid?”

“I…” His eyes looked past me at my three friends and I could see a flicker of something—doubt, maybe—enter his blue eyes. It vanished, replaced with a cocksure resolve. “I… you have the honour of having me as your first-ever underling!”

To my surprise—Haruto stepped around me and stared down at Konohamaru. “Naruto doesn’t have underlings, pipsqueak.”

“Who the heck are you calling pipsqueak?” Konohamaru smirked. “Do you know who my grandfather is?”

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Nori and Ko tapped Haruto’s shoulders in warning but he wasn’t having any of it. I watched his nostrils flair and—with a strange detachment—started to chuckle. Was he… jealous of Konohamaru?

Both of them turned, asking in unison, “What’s funny?”

“Nothing,” I replied. “Kid, Haruto’s right. I don’t have any underlings. These three sort of count as my students… maybe?” I looked at them and they all nodded immediately.

Haruto wasn’t the only jealous one, after all, it seemed.

Konohamaru folded his arms and looked at Ko, Nori, and Haruto grudgingly, “Then I’ll be your… fourth student. When do we start?”

Nori opened his mouth but I raised my hand to silence him.

“Don’t you have school to get to?” I asked.

“...What about them?” he jutted out his chin.

I followed his gaze to see Haruto, Ko, and Nori—all three wore light smirks.

Konohamaru stamped his foot. “W-Why, I oughta—!”

“That’s enough,” I sighed, grabbing him by the scruff of his shirt before he could throw himself at them. “You want to skip school? Fine, just don’t come crying to me if you get into trouble.”

Ko groaned. “He’s coming with us?”

“I am!” Konohamaru grinned.

“Why? You don’t like him?” I asked.

Nori shook his head. “It’s not that.”

“What, then?” Konohamaru looked down, clenching his fists. I stared pointedly at them until they looked away in guilt, laying a hand on the kid’s head. “I don’t mind him coming and if it’s because he’s a kid, boohoo. You guys are kids too.”

“Hey!” Ko frowned. “You’re only a year older than us.”

I jabbed my thumb against the centre of my forehead protector. “This thing says I’m an adult and until you get one next year, you're all kids to me. Now, come this way.” With a hand on Konohamaru’s shoulder, I guided him past Haruto, Ko, and Nori before letting him go ahead and staring at the other three expectantly. “Are you guys coming or not?”

They blinked and started walking, their irritation at hanging out with a kid much younger than them giving way to the possibility that I might leave them, which was good enough for me. I didn’t expect or care whether or not they became friends with him instantly. Konohamaru was stubborn enough to keep needling me until I gave in, so why not sic him on Haruto, Nori, and Ko instead?

He was prideful enough to become my supposed fourth student, which meant learning under the other three and they’d be more eager to befriend him once they learned about the benefits of knowing the Hokage’s grandson. Genuine friendship would come later and, if not, I’d just have them unify in collective rage against me through training.

I wrestled control of my expression as Konohamaru started needling Nori, the stocky, dark-haired boy too polite to tell him to screw off. This continued all the way to Ichiraku Ramen, where Ko and Konohamaru stopped arguing to stare at the building’s back entrance.

“Ramen? It’s only nine in the morning,” said Ko, taking a moment to re-tie her bun. “Why are we here?”

“Not everyone knows I’m back yet,” I said, walking to the door. “Just give me a moment to check in on Mr Teuchi and Ayame and then we can head to a park or something. We’ll see if you guys have made any progress since we last sparred.”

Haruto grinned. “You bet! Me and Asami have been sparring lots since our taijutsu styles are similar. I even—”

“You and Asami Hyuuga, huh?” I smirked. “What’s happening there?”

Ko and Nori took equally devious smirks and turned to Haruto in unison. The brown-haired boy flushed almost immediately.

“N-No! It’s not like that—I s-swear!”

I let go of the issue, but his two friends didn’t.

Konohamaru walked up to me, but not after scoffing at the three of them. I raised an eyebrow at the reaction, walking to the door. Before I could raise a fist to knock, the door opened wide. Teuchi burst out of its threshold, enveloping me in a massive hug and lifting me off the ground. I blinked, feeling faint vertigo at having been swung around before I looked him in the eye.

“...I’m back?”

His grin widened and Teuchi threw his head over his shoulder. “Ayame… Naruto’s back!” He dragged me into the restaurant and I heard the door close behind me. “Over here!”

Entering the break room, I saw Ayame sitting at a circular table reading a newspaper article. She looked up and Teuchi transferred me into her grip and I was enveloped in a less crushing but equally warm embrace.

“When did you get back?” she asked, grasping my shoulders and pushing me away enough to get a good look at me. Her brown eyes eagerly drank in my features and when she was satisfied, Ayame pulled me in for another hug.

I extracted myself from her grip with a smile. “A few days ago. I spent the last few cleaning my place thanks to the lovely new coat of dust on everything.”

Teuchi interrupted me by slinging an arm over my shoulder. “You should give us a spare key so we can clean up your apartment while you’re away.”

“That’s…” I tapped my chin. “That’s a pretty good idea. I’ll get one made soon.”

“Good. Now, do you want to tell me why these guys are following you instead of going to school?” His smile turned stern and I looked at the four kids I’d pulled out of school for the morning.

“Uh…” said Haruto, eloquently explaining his thoughts to the world.

Ko and Nori froze, no better than him but it was Konohamaru who put the final nail into the coffin. The little shit marched right up to Teuchi, barely reaching his waist and having to tilt his head back almost completely to look him in the eye.

“I’m allowed to be here,” he said, folding his arms.

Teuchi raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”

“Because I say so.”

“And what if I say otherwise, young man?”

Konohamaru smiled. “But you can’t. Don’t you know who my grandfather is?”

“Hey, cut that out,” Haruto interrupted, brows furrowed. “I’ve been wanting to say that for a while now. Just ‘cause your grandpa’s Lord Third, doesn’t mean you get to be an asshol—”

“The help is appreciated,” said Teuchi, smiling at Haruto, “but unneeded, kid. See, my Ayame here used to be quite the little brat—like you, young man.” I looked at Ayame with curiosity and she looked away, cheeks reddening. “I know a thing or two about dealing with spoiled children.”

“Oh yeah?” Konohamaru poked the bear even further by smirking. “What are you going to do?”

“First of all, the four of you,” he looked at Haruto, Nori, and Ko before his gaze returned to Konohamaru, “should still be in school, but because of this one, you’re all going to help me before heading back.”

I chuckled and walked over to Ayame, pulling out a chair beside her. “This is going to be good.”

“Hold on there, Naruto.”

“What, why?”

Teuchi fixed me with an unimpressed stare. “You didn’t answer my question. Why are these four following you around?”

I squeezed my eyes shut and when I opened them, all four of those brats were smirking at me, triumph glimmering in their beady little eyes. And I couldn’t lie, because not only would it piss off the old man, they’d rat me out in an instant.

Konohamaru included.

“Because I told them to.” I sighed. “But it was only for the morning. After I visited you, I was gonna take them to the park to spar before sending them back.”

Well, now they’re going to help me set up because this one,” he patted Konohamaru’s head, “decided to mouth off. Then, they’ll eat some nice bowls of ramen before heading back in time for the afternoon lessons.”

Whatever bone the trio had to pick with Konohamaru, Teuchi gave them no time to do so. He set me off to work on some broth for later in the day and, from the sound of it, put all four of them on cleaning duty with Ayame watching them like a hawk.

“Are we gonna spar?” asked Haruto over his ramen bowl when we’d finished after an entire hour.

“Watch the floor,” I replied, sipping a spoonful of broth. “You don’t want Mr Teuchi making you guys clean it up, do you?”

That got me a round of mutters from all four of them. Konohamaru sat in the corner of the room, silently slurping on his noodles as if he hadn’t eaten in days.

Teuchi entered the break room from the kitchen, wiping his brow with a rag. “Spar? No, you guys are going back to school.”

Ko and Nori looked to me for help but I shook my head. “You heard the boss man. We’ll spar this weekend.”

“Why not after school?” Konohamaru whined.

I looked at him with amusement. “Because I’ve got things to do.”

“What things?”

Instead of answering, I walked up and crouched low enough till I was level with him, whispering, “None of your business.” He threw his head back, brows scrunched so hard in frustration that I laughed. “...Okay, fine. I’ve got to go and check in on some more people. Don’t give me that look—I know more people than Mr Teuchi and Ayame.”

“Really?” Ayame gasped. “No… that can’t be true!”

Ko laughed at my expense and even the ever-dour Nori snorted. I clutched my heart in exaggerated hurt, turning my gaze onto Haruto. “Back me up here, man!”

“I dunno…” The corners of his lips curved up. “You’re pretty gloomy.”

I slumped against the wall in defeat to a round of chuckles.

“Okay, off with you all,” said Teuchi, herding the four of them through the backdoor with napkins and bottles of water. “And if I find out you decided to play hooky, I’ll make your ramen extra spicy next time!”

He closed the door behind them with a faint smile still lingering on his face.

“I really should be going,” I said, leaving behind my empty ramen bowl.

“What’s the rush?” Ayame asked. “Can’t you stay for a while?”

“Leave him be. He’s just come back from a mission.” Teuchi swatted her lightly. When he looked at me, I could see neverending concern in his eyes. “How was it?”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t great, but it ended well. I’m a lot richer and I got to do some good.”

“The number of shinobi who’ve sat opposite that counter… do you know how many of them come for a hot bowl of comfort after a mission?”

“...No?”

“Too many—but do you know how many of them promise me that they’ll come back safe and sound, but don’t?”

I looked at my feet. “...Too many.”

He hummed, laying a hand on my head. “You might grow taller than me one day, you’re stronger than me, but that worry? The worry that gnawed at me the entire time you were gone? I don’t think it’ll ever go away, even if you became the Hokage.”

There he went again, dropping gems of wisdom and a punch to the gut alongside said gem. I snorted, blinking the unbidden heat out of my eyes. “...Like I’d ever choose to do that much paperwork.”

“Get out of here,” he chuckled, opening the door for me. “But don’t be a stranger, you hear me?”

Ayame squeezed her head under his arm in the doorway. “I’m serious!”

I looked back at them and gave a lazy two-fingered salute. “I’ll be there for my shift on Thursday!”

Once the amusement faded, I was left wandering the busier streets in… boredom wasn’t quite the right word. I knew that there was something I had to do, I just didn’t have the desire or energy to do it, so I hopped across the rooftops instead. Hokage Mountain stood tall in the distance, but I kept my eyes off it, at least for the first half an hour. When the beating sun grew too hot to withstand, I fell back to street level and went wherever my feet took me.

I drifted through the village, the familiar sights blurring into a haze as I moved without purpose. The vibrant colours of the market stalls, the distant chatter of vendors, and the occasional glint of metal from a shinobi's forehead protector all melted into the background. My mind wandered as much as my feet, skimming over thoughts and memories that seemed just out of reach.