Meanwhile—
At the Hokage Tower, in the mission assignment office.
Teacher Ibuki stood at the counter, finished filling out the last form, and handed it to the clerk.
The clerk took it and nodded.
"You'll start tomorrow?"
"Yeah."
Teacher Ibuki answered, then turned and walked out of the Hokage Tower.
A cool night breeze brushed past.
After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
"Oh no..."
Teacher Ibuki patted his pocket.
No key.
He must have left it back at the school.
He let out a reflexive sigh and turned around, heading back toward the academy.
Today really had been one thing after another.
First he failed to keep control of the class, then things nearly turned dangerous, and now he had to go all the way back for his key.
The more he thought about it, the more tired he felt.
"Am I really suited to be a teacher?" Ibuki Tōru asked himself quietly.
There was no answer.
Only the sound of the wind.
He arrived at the school, pushed open the gate, and turned on the hallway lights.
His footsteps echoed through the empty building.
The moment he opened the office door, Ibuki Tōru froze.
On his desk sat a golden bouquet of sunflowers mixed with white blossoms, quietly blooming in the moonlight.
He slowly walked over and looked down at the flowers.
There was a note tucked underneath them.
He pulled it out and unfolded it.
It was Rin's handwriting.
"Teacher Ibuki,
You looked unhappy today, and we were worried.
These flowers are for you. We hope they can cheer you up a little.
You are the best teacher we've ever had.
Thank you for teaching us every day.
—Rin"
Under that was one more crooked little line.
"If Teacher is tired, you can do what I do—if you fall down somewhere, just stay there and lie down for a while. It's okay to rest a bit. —Shin-chan"
And under that, two very simple words:
"Hang in there! —Obito"
Teacher Ibuki looked at the note for a very, very long time.
Moonlight spilled through the window, over the flowers, over the paper, over his face.
Suddenly, his eyes felt a little hot.
"You're the best students I've ever had."
He said it softly.
No one answered.
Only the flowers sat there, quietly blooming.
Teacher Ibuki carefully folded the note and tucked it into his pocket, then looked at the bouquet one more time.
"Tomorrow, I'm definitely going to teach properly."
After getting himself back together, Teacher Ibuki picked up the flowers and headed home.
The moonlight was bright, the wind was gentle, and his mood had never felt better.
Those little brats...
He looked down at the sunflowers in his arms, then touched the neatly folded note in his pocket.
A smile crept back onto his face before he even realized it.
Still smiling, he reached his front door.
Then froze.
The door was shut.
He checked one pocket.
Then the other.
Then both back pockets.
Empty.
All empty.
Teacher Ibuki stood at his own front door, bouquet in his arms, his expression slowly hardening.
"My key..."
He thought back carefully.
When he went back to school just now, he'd been so focused on the flowers and the note...
He'd forgotten to pick up the key.
With a miserable groan, Teacher Ibuki leaned his forehead against the door.
"How am I this stupid..."
The flowers were still in his arms, smelling nice.
But he couldn't get inside.
Teacher Ibuki stood there for two seconds, took a deep breath, then turned back again, carrying the flowers through the moonlight.
The wind was still that soft, the moon still that bright.
...
The next morning.
Teacher Ibuki stood at the front of the classroom, looking bright-eyed and full of energy.
"Good morning, class!"
The students froze for a second.
Why was Teacher Ibuki in such good spirits today?
Shin-chan yawned and slumped over his desk.
Teacher Ibuki's gaze swept toward him.
"Nohara Shinnosuke."
"Here."
"Stand up."
Shin-chan slowly got to his feet, rubbing his eyes.
"What is it, teacher?"
"Where did I leave off yesterday?"
Shin-chan blinked.
"Yesterday..."
He thought about it.
Then thought some more.
"Yesterday, you seemed to be spacing out the whole time, teacher."
The classroom went silent for a second.
Then someone couldn't hold back a laugh.
Teacher Ibuki's mouth twitched. "Then today you are going to listen carefully. Sit down."
Shin-chan sat down and poked Uchiha Toru beside him.
"Che."
"Yeah?"
"Teacher is really weird today."
Uchiha Toru looked up at the energetic figure at the front of the room and nodded.
"Yeah. A little."
At the front, Teacher Ibuki had already started the lesson.
His voice was louder than usual, his gestures bigger than usual, and even his writing on the board was neater than usual.
After explaining for a while, he suddenly stopped.
"Uchiha Obito."
Obito had been secretly doodling on his desk and jumped so hard his pencil dropped.
"H-Here..."
"What did I just explain?"
Obito opened his mouth, but his mind was completely blank.
Teacher Ibuki looked at him, not angry, just nodding.
"Didn't hear it clearly, right? Then I'll explain it again. You listen properly this time."
Obito nodded blankly.
Teacher Ibuki continued the lesson.
A while later, he stopped again.
"Nohara Shinnosuke."
Shin-chan had been making little gestures under the desk and stiffened instantly when his name was called.
"H-Here..."
"What did I just explain?"
Shin-chan blinked. "You were explaining..."
He thought about it.
Then thought some more.
"Chakra?"
Teacher Ibuki nodded.
"What about chakra?"
Shin-chan fell silent.
Teacher Ibuki just looked at him without saying anything.
After a moment, Shin-chan said, "Teacher, you're really strict today. Yesterday you definitely weren't like this."
Teacher Ibuki froze for a second.
"That's because yesterday I... anyway, today you are going to listen carefully. Sit down."
Shin-chan sat down and sighed.
Beside him, Uchiha Toru whispered, "Why do you keep getting called on today?"
Shin-chan shook his head, looking very profound.
...
That afternoon, during physical training—
Teacher Ibuki brought the students out to the field and clapped his hands.
"Today, once again, we have mystery guests."
Someone nearby immediately started booing.
"Tch, it's probably those upperclassmen again."
"Didn't they get humiliated enough yesterday?"
"Exactly. They still dare come back?"
Teacher Ibuki stood at the front listening to all the booing, but instead of getting angry, he just smiled.
"Not upperclassmen. People even stronger than upperclassmen."
The booing stopped.
The children looked at each other.
Then four figures walked in from the other side of the field.
Leading them was a jōnin, dressed in a green flak jacket, wearing a gentle smile.
Behind him were two boys and a girl, around eleven or twelve years old, all wearing Konoha forehead protectors.
The boy on the left wore black sunglasses and had his collar pulled high, hiding most of his face. His clothes were wrapped up so tightly he seemed sealed inside them.
The girl in the center had two red markings on her cheeks, and a little white dog perched on her shoulder, looking around curiously.
The boy on the right looked the most ordinary of all, wearing a standard ninja outfit and smiling a little shyly—the kind of face that would disappear in a crowd.
"Waaah!!!"
The children burst into excited shouts.
"They're real ninja!"
"They're all wearing forehead protectors, that's so cool!"
"That big sister has a dog on her shoulder! It's so cute!"
~~~
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