Uchiha Sasuke had changed a lot.
His classmates at the Academy were the first to notice.
The most obvious changes were internal.
Before, although Sasuke often wore a stern little face and didn't like to interact with people, he still carried a hint of childish awkwardness and pride.
When he completed his coursework with the top score, the corner of his mouth would unconsciously curl up. When he was surrounded by admiring girls, the tips of his ears would secretly turn red.
But now, everything was different.
That blood-soaked night had drained all the light and warmth from him.
Now, just standing there, Sasuke gave off an inexplicable sense of lifelessness.
…
"Hey, Sakura, don't you think... Sasuke-kun has become a bit scary?" During lunch break, Yamanaka Ino, who was eating with Haruno Sakura, poked her rice ball with chopsticks and suddenly blurted out these words.
Hearing this, Sakura's chewing slowed. She followed Ino's gaze.
Sasuke was sitting cross-legged under a tree at the edge of the field, a sheathed long sword resting across his knees.
Sasuke didn't seem any different from usual, at least in her eyes. He was still the same aloof person.
"Scary?" Sakura frowned, not agreeing with the term. "How could that be, Ino? Don't say nonsense."
"But, he just feels different now." Ino puffed out her cheeks, struggling to find the right words, "Before, even though Sasuke-kun was cool and didn't talk much, it felt like he was still with us."
"That's because he went through pain we can't even imagine." Sakura's voice lowered, filled with deep pity, "Ino, think about it. If one day you went home and found the Yamanaka Flower Shop gone, your mom and dad also... what would you do?"
Ino's face instantly paled. Just the thought made tears well up in her eyes.
"I don't know..."
"So, Sasuke-kun being like this isn't scary." Sakura looked at Sasuke's lonely figure, her tone firm, "He's just closed himself off. He's afraid to form connections with others again, afraid of getting hurt again."
Ino nodded, not speaking, but internally she didn't quite agree. Because the feeling Sasuke gave her now was strange.
"How about we go talk to him?" Sakura looked at Ino expectantly, "Even if he ignores us, letting him know someone still cares about him might make him feel better?"
Ino hesitated, "But, Sasuke-kun looks like he's busy..."
Ino's feeling wasn't wrong.
At that moment, Sasuke sat alone under the tree like an isolated island, cut off from the whole world.
But in fact, it was Sasuke who was actively isolating the world.
His consciousness had long sunk into his own mental world.
This was Zanpakuto Meditation, a Shinigami's method of training to communicate with their own Zanpakuto.
In meditation, use their Reiatsu to resonate with the Zanpakuto, achieving the goal of conversing with it.
Being able to communicate with the sword is the first step for a Shinigami to release their Zanpakuto.
Only by knowing the sword's name can one wield its true power.
But for the current Sasuke, this was more like a habit to pass the boring time.
Communication? That was no longer needed.
Knowing the sword's name and achieving Shikai was the minimum standard for graduating from the Shin'o Academy.
In an environment like the 11th Division, if you couldn't even take the first step of conversing with your sword, you had no right to survive.
The reason he was still practicing Zanpakuto Meditation was simply to block out the meaningless noise outside and wait for someone who was chronically late.
'Hatake Kakashi...'
Sasuke's consciousness withdrew from his mental world. His eyes opened, flashing with a trace of irritation.
'He said 9 AM.'
'Now, it was already lunch break.'
'Did I get stood up?'
'Or was this the so-called 'capacity' of a Konoha's Jonin? Treating promises as nothing.'
Just as his opinion of Kakashi dropped another notch in his mind, two figures interrupted his thoughts.
"Sasuke-kun!"
It was Sakura. She was pulling the hesitant Ino along, walking straight over with a self-righteous, concerned smile, "It's so lonely being here alone. Let's have lunch together?"
Sasuke didn't even lift an eyelid. The Zanpakuto on his knees emitted a cold aura.
"Get lost."
Haruno Sakura's smile froze on her face, but she quickly rallied and took another step forward.
"Sasuke-kun, I know you're very sad, but you can't keep shutting yourself away like this. We are companions..."
"Sakura, let's just go..." Ino beside her whispered, tugging at her sleeve. She could clearly feel the air around them getting colder. It wasn't an illusion.
"No!" Sakura stubbornly shook off Ino's hand, "I have to help him come out of this!"
"I'll say it one last time. Disappear from my sight." Sasuke finally looked up.
"Why can't you understand that I mean well!" Sakura was inexplicably angered and actually wanted to step forward to argue.
"Such a nuisance..."
Sasuke lost his patience.
He abruptly stood up, raising his left hand, index and middle fingers together. A stream of pure Reiatsu began to gather.
"Bakudo #4..."
"Well, attacking girls at school isn't exactly praiseworthy behavior, you know?"
Just then, a hand reached out from behind him, gently pressing down on his raised wrist.
A lazy voice sounded.
"Using such harsh words to hurt a girl who cares about you will only make people dislike you." Kakashi gave the two startled girls a reassuring smile.
Sasuke whipped his head around. Kakashi was standing behind him, smiling.
"Let go. And you're late." He coldly spat out the words, withdrawing the Kido he was about to release.
"Oh, I'm so sorry."
Kakashi released his hand, scratching his head without any sincerity, "I was so lost in thought about how to teach my adorable student in the future that I completely lost track of time."
Sasuke let out an ambiguous snort, turned, and walked towards the gate.
Left behind, Sakura and Ino were still somewhat shaken.
"Ahaha, what an unstraightforward child."
Kakashi watched Sasuke's retreating figure, helplessly spreading his hands, then turned to the two girls still frozen in place.
"Sorry, did I scare you? Sasuke, he... well, he's been through some tough times. He's not used to interacting with people yet. Please be patient with him."
Sakura's eyes were slightly red, "Sasuke-kun... is he really okay?"
"He'll be fine." Kakashi smiled reassuringly, "I'm here for him. Well, it's almost time for class. You should head back now."
wanted to say something more, but Ino pulled her away. They both bowed quickly to Kakashi and hurried off.
After sending the two girls away, the smile on Kakashi's face slowly faded.
He looked in the direction Sasuke had left, his expression turning complex.
He had told Sasuke to wait for him at the Academy to observe how Sasuke interacted with his peers now.
But based on what he saw today, the situation didn't seem very optimistic.
The only comforting thing was that when he raised his hand earlier, that strange energy fluctuation wasn't aggressive.
"Really, you've given me a difficult problem, Sandaime-sama."
Kakashi muttered to himself with a sigh. His figure flashed and disappeared from the spot.