The commotion between classes passed quickly, and as the bell rang, the noise in the room dwindled.
Children forget fast. The earlier fracas slipped from their minds, but Kushina still hid her face in her arms, red hair hanging like a stubborn flame.
Time flowed like water. In a blink, the final bell echoed across the campus.
Cheering, the children poured out like birds to their nests, chattering as they scattered.
Kushina shot to her feet and streaked out like the wind, her red hair carving a bright arc before she vanished into the crowd.
Jin did not rush to leave. He sat quietly until footsteps in the hall thinned and the sunset poured through the window, laying a warm orange wash across his desk.
Only then did he pack up at an easy pace and step into the corridor.
Dusk had already stained the sky. The last rays ebbed away as he set off for home.
Shopkeepers on both sides of the street were packing up for the day.
The Uchiha fan hung above every doorway, yet most of the people running these shops were ordinary folk.
The clan was famed for its kekkei genkai, but not all were shinobi. Some lacked chakra talent. Some simply had no taste for that life and chose a plain, steady path.
When they saw Jin, the vendors smiled and called out warmly.
"Jin, out so late today?" a grocer chuckled.
"It is nearly dark. If you do not hurry, Mikoto will worry," teased the auntie at the fruit stand.
"Here, red bean soup fresh off the boil. Drink while it is hot." A kindly old woman pressed a steaming bowl into his hands and slipped a few candies into his pocket.
Jin smiled in return, but these friendly clansfolk had no intention of letting him go empty-handed.
All along the way, more things were pushed into his arms. By the time he reached his door, he held a dozen skewers of tricolor dango, and his pockets bulged with sweets.
He sighed helplessly, yet warmth welled in his chest.
They were commoners, but their care was the purest he had known.
From childhood to now, their smiles and kindness had never changed.
The more it was so, the hotter his anger burned.
Uchiha Obito and Itachi, how cold must they be to raise a blade against people like these?
In the clan, civilians far outnumbered shinobi. There were thousands of ordinary households in the compound alone, not to mention the families of active ninja. Most were women, children, and the elderly with no way to resist.
Across two lives, Jin asked himself and knew he could never do something so vile.
"So I will not let that tragedy happen."
He looked down at the dango in his hand, eyes growing firm.
"I will never let it happen, not even if Uchiha Madara himself returns."
"The fate of this clan, I will rewrite it."
He finished the remaining dango in a few bites, drew a steady breath, and pushed open the door.
"Mikoto, I am home."
He slipped off his shoes with practiced ease and called into the house.
"Why are you back so late?"
A gentle voice drifted from within, and a black-haired girl stepped out, hair like a waterfall.
Her skin was fair, her brows and eyes soft, every movement carrying quiet warmth.
"Got held up on the way." Jin smiled and pulled a handful of candies from his pocket for her.
Mikoto took them and gave him a mock scold. "Eat fewer sweets, or you will get cavities. Those aunties too, always stuffing you with so much."
Even as she spoke, she carefully poured the candies into a glass jar.
Jin nodded again and again, promising to be careful.
"Come in, the dishes are getting cold." Mikoto turned toward the kitchen, her voice tinged with helplessness yet full of care. "We have braised pork and takikomi gohan tonight, and your favorite tamagoyaki."
"So fancy today?" Jin's eyes lit as he followed.
On the table, steam curled from the dishes, fragrant and inviting. Amber braised pork bubbled in an earthen pot, green vegetables dotted the white rice, and golden tamagoyaki lay in neat slices.
He took the rice bowl she handed him. Under the warm light they sat across from each other.
Outside, the clan's lamps flicked on one by one, quiet and serene.