What We Carry

Okay, look I know I said I was going to train.ú But let's be honest curiosity always wins. Something about the way Sensei left too fast, Too not-his-usual-self. He acted normal but something just felt missing So naturally, I trailed him.

Stealth mode: activated.

(Kind of.)

Turns out, I wasn't the only one.

"I thought you were tired of seeing our faces," I whispered without turning.

"I am," Itachi replied, his tone flat. "That's why I'm doing this alone."

Sure enough, Inari was crouched behind a fence up ahead, peeking over it like a kid spying on a candy shop.

"Are you stalking him, or just lost again?" I asked.

She smiled sweetly. "A little of both."

"I can point you to the nearest weapon shop if you want."

Her smile sharpened instantly, A hand shot up like she was about to slap me.

The way Shinko Inari could switch from sunshine to stormcloud and back again

Someone really needs to study that.

Anyway, the three of us ended up silently tailing Minazukin sensei together. We watched as he bought a large bouquet of flowers. Then, oddly, he picked up a bottle of sake.

I tilted my head. "Flowers and booze? That's a weird combo."

But I didn't say it out loud. Not when he turned down the main path and headed straight toward the cemetery. And suddenly, it clicked. We froze behind a stone wall, none of us speaking. The silence was awkward. Not just because we got caught spying But because we understood now.

"You can come out," Sensei said, not even looking back.

Inari stepped out first, hands up in apology. "Sorry, Sensei. We didn't mean to intrude"

"It's okay," he said, voice gentler than usual. "You're here now."

We stepped closer as he knelt by a gravestone. The air was heavy.

"This," he said, placing the bouquet and sake down, "is my wife's resting place."

Silence again.

"She was a kunoichi," he continued. "We met by accident at a flower shop. I was young and reckless. My friend dragged me out to get sake for his birthday. She told us off for making too much noise."

He smiled faintly at the memory.

"A few months later, I saw her again. Same flower shop. Same scowl. I asked her out right there."

Shinko's eyes were watery.

"She died during the third war," he said, brushing his hand over the name on the stone. "Mission went wrong. She stayed behind to hold the line."

We all bowed and paid our respects.

Then, without needing to be told, we gave him space.

No one said a word as we walked away, three shadows in the late day light. For once, Itachi didn't say something sharp, Inari didn't get lost And I well, I wasn't joking anymore.When I got home, I just sat on the porch for a while.

Thinking.

About sensei, About loss, About duty And about how close we all walk beside that same edge. But more than anything, it made me want to grow stronger.Not just to protect people But so the ones I care about never have to carry more than they already do.

If I can carry some of it for them Then maybe I'll be worth calling a shinobi.