9: The Apology
by inkadmin“Don’t sweat it, Shin. You had him. Iruka-sensei’s the one who called it.”
Kiba said it before Shin had even made it back to the group.
“I’m fine.” Shin gave a small smile, unbothered.
“Still.” Shino spoke up from beside him. “Your strength is something else. You had Sasuke on the back foot the entire time.”
He paused, then added, “And those leg sweeps. The speed, the angles — where did you learn those?”
He said it all at once, which for Shino was practically a speech.
Kiba nodded hard. “Yeah, seriously. I never see you train. How do you just do that?”
Shin didn’t answer. He shook his head lightly.
Train, huh.
Kiba’s words lodged somewhere in the back of his mind. He’d grown comfortable here — too comfortable. The truth was he’d barely trained at all since settling in. Today’s win over Sasuke came down to experience and instinct, nothing he’d built recently.
And Sasuke had talent. Real talent. If Shin kept coasting, it wouldn’t be long before the gap closed.
I need to get serious.
“Let’s watch the rest,” he said. “One match doesn’t prove anything.”
……
The afternoon wore on. Round after round, Shin and the others watched from the sidelines. The sun drifted across the sky without anyone much noticing.
When the last pair finally finished, Iruka snapped his roster shut.
“That’s it for today.” He swept his gaze across the field. “Those of you whose names I flagged — remedial sessions this weekend, no exceptions.” A brief pause. “Those of you who passed — don’t get complacent. There’s always more work to do.”
He smiled.
“Dismissed.”
“Finally.” Kiba let out a long breath and pushed himself up off the ground. “Thought that would never end.” Akamaru yawned from his arms, a small, lazy sound.
Shino looked tired too, though he wouldn’t say so.
“Let’s head home,” Kiba said, already turning.
Shin stretched, rolled his shoulders, and fell in step behind him.
“Come on, Shino.”
“Mm.”
They were almost out of the field when someone called his name.
Shin turned.
Naruto was crossing toward him — slower than usual, shoulders slightly hunched, the grin on his face a size too wide. Sheepish. Working up to something.
Right. Almost forgot about him.
Shin had a pretty good idea what was coming.
“Hey,” Kiba said, noticing. “What’s up?”
“You two go ahead,” Shin said, glancing at them. “I’ve got something to take care of.”
Kiba looked at Naruto, then back at Shin. He pressed his lips together and didn’t say anything.
“Come on, Shino.”
“…”
They left. The field emptied around them until only Shin and Naruto remained.
The walk home was quiet.
Kiba didn’t speak for a while. Then, abruptly:
“I wonder what Hana made for dinner.” He looked down at Akamaru. “What do you think? Meat again?”
“Woof!“
“You always want meat. You’re gonna get fat.”
“Woof!“
Shino watched them for a moment — Kiba and Akamaru running through their usual routine, filling the silence the only way Kiba knew how.
When it finally ran dry, Shino spoke.
“You care more than you let on.”
Kiba went quiet.
“Shin is kind,” Shino said, almost to himself.
“…”
Neither of them said anything else.
Back on the practice field, Naruto scratched the back of his head.
“Heh.” He laughed first, which meant he was nervous. Then, like he’d just remembered something:
“Shin, you were unreal today. Going up against that stuck-up Sasuke and just — yeah, he couldn’t touch you. It was awesome.”
He said it with real enthusiasm.
“And honestly, Iruka-sensei totally jumped in at the wrong time. If he’d just let it play out, you would’ve won for sure.”
He kept talking.
“Not that you should feel bad, because honestly, everyone knows you’re better than Sasuke. You’ve got way more time to prove it.”
Shin said nothing. He watched, a quiet smile on his face.
Naruto glanced at him sidelong, gauging.
“Your talent is crazy, by the way. Shuriken in one session. Taijutsu like that. Top of the class in theory. You’re basically already the class ace.”
He was rambling now.
“Not that your shuriken scores should get you down! I heard Sasuke’s been training since forever, so that one doesn’t count. You’ll surpass him easy.”
He clapped Shin on the shoulder as he said it.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
“…”
“…”
“Uh.” Naruto scratched his cheek. Stalling. “Speaking of Sasuke. That guy. He’s got, like, zero friends, right? I heard a bunch of people in class can’t stand him.”
He hesitated.
“But you’re different, Shin. You’re—”
The words stopped.
“…”
“…”
“Shin.”
“I…”
The easy chatter fell away. Whatever scaffolding he’d built up over the last few minutes started to crack.
“I’ve been thinking about it. And… this afternoon, with Kiba…”
He exhaled.
“…that was my fault.”
Shin felt something shift in his chest — a small, quiet thing, like a string being plucked.
Naruto took a slow breath and bowed his head. His hair fell forward, hiding his eyes.
“I just talk, you know? I say I’m going to be Hokage, I say I can do anything, but…” His voice softened, almost laughing at himself. “I can’t. I can’t do any of it.”
A beat.
“Kiba was right.”
“I’m an idiot.”
“I really am an idiot.” His voice trembled. His shoulders shook.
“…”
“Shin, I just — I’m sorry.”
“…”
“We’re still friends, right?”
A long silence.
“We are, right? You’ll forgive me.”
He kept asking, like he needed it said out loud to believe it. When he finally lifted his head, there were tears on his face. His eyes were wide and searching and just a little afraid.
“Shin…”
“Naruto.“
Shin called his name — not gently, not harshly. Just clearly.
Naruto went still.
“Stop apologizing.” Shin stepped forward and set both hands on Naruto’s shoulders, steadying him. He waited until Naruto met his eyes.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
He held his gaze and spoke like he meant every word.
“Naruto. We’re friends.”
“We’ve always been friends. We’ll always be friends.”
Naruto stared at him, a few inches away, unable to speak.
“…Really?”
Shin nodded.
“Thank you.” Naruto’s voice cracked. “Thank you, I — thank you, Shin…”
The tears came again, and this time his face broke into a smile through them. He laughed, and cried, and couldn’t quite do either properly.
……
Not far off, two figures stood side by side in the shadows of the tree line.
“Happy now?” Shino said.
“…”
“Let’s go,” Kiba said quietly.
He turned and walked away, unhurried, not looking back. The sun was sinking fast. The whole world had gone amber and gold, and it stretched Kiba’s shadow out long across the ground ahead of him.
Shino watched him go for a moment.
Good, he thought, without quite meaning to.
Really good.
“I’m home.”
He appeared in the entryway the way shinobi always do — no sound, no warning. Just there.
He was older than a boy his age should look. Fitted black combat gear, mesh underlayer, long dark hair tied loosely back. Two faint lines ran down his face from cheekbone to jaw, a detail that made him look harder than he was.
“Welcome home, Itachi. Long mission?”
A woman stepped out from the hallway, still wearing her apron. Mikoto’s voice was warm, unhurried.
0 Comments