The moon slowly rose into the sky.
Silver moonlight spilled across the yard, shining on the two small figures and the wooden swords that kept clashing against each other.
After who knew how long, Kakashi was the first to lower his sword. "Let's stop here for today."
"What time is it now?" Shin-chan asked, wiping away his sweat.
Kakashi looked up at the moon. "No idea. But it's probably pretty late."
Shin-chan scratched his head, about to say something, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice in the distance.
"Shin-chan!"
It was Misae.
Then came Hiroshi's voice too. "Shin-chan, where are you?"
Shin-chan's expression froze. Slowly, he turned to look at Kakashi.
"I think..." His voice got smaller and smaller. "I forgot to tell Mom I wasn't coming home for dinner."
Kakashi was silent for two seconds. "You didn't remember while you were eating?"
Shin-chan blinked.
While eating?
He'd probably been too busy eating.
The voices in the distance were getting closer. They were clearly heading this way.
Shin-chan hurried toward the yard gate. He had only taken a few steps when he saw two familiar figures appear at the far end of the street.
And the moment Misae spotted him, she strode over at once.
"Nohara Shinnosuke!"
Shin-chan shrank back and didn't dare make a sound.
Misae walked up to him and bonked him on the head.
"Do you have any idea what time it is? Dinner was ready and you were gone. We looked everywhere and couldn't find you. Do you know how long your dad and I have been searching for you?"
Holding his head, Shin-chan answered in a tiny voice, "Sorry..."
"Does 'sorry' fix anything? Didn't you say you'd be back on time?"
"We were training, and I forgot what time it was."
"Training? So because you're training, you don't need to eat? Because you're training, your parents have to search the whole village for you?"
Hiroshi tried to smooth things over from the side. "Alright, alright, we found him. That's what matters."
Misae shot him a glare. "Don't start. You were panicking too."
Hiroshi gave an awkward cough and stopped talking.
Shin-chan secretly checked Misae's expression, then scooted closer and hugged her leg.
"Mom, I was wrong. Next time I'll definitely remember to tell you."
Misae stiffened a little and looked down at him.
Shin-chan tilted his face up at her and blinked innocently.
"If there's a next time, just see what happens to you." Misae lightly knocked him on the head again.
Shin-chan let out a breath of relief. He knew he'd made it through.
Kakashi stood by the yard gate and didn't come any closer. He just stood there quietly, watching that red figure cling to his mother and act spoiled.
Watching the three of them standing together in the middle of the street, wrapped in the dim yellow glow of the streetlights.
Shin-chan held his mother's hand, and as they walked away, he kept turning back to wave.
"Kakashi, see you tomorrow."
Kakashi raised a hand and waved back.
Then the three of them gradually disappeared into the distance, and their voices faded until they could no longer be heard.
In the end, only a faint bit of light remained at the far end of the street.
Kakashi lowered his hand, stood there a while longer, then turned and walked back into the yard.
He pushed open the door.
Inside, the house was pitch black, exactly the same as it had been when he left.
The fire in the stove had long since gone out. Only the bamboo in the yard made the occasional rustling sound.
Kakashi stood at the entryway without turning on the light.
Moonlight streamed through the window, laying a thin layer of silver frost across the floor.
The house was empty.
Too quiet.
Kakashi suddenly thought of the scene from earlier—Shin-chan hugging his mother's leg and looking up at her as he said, "I was wrong."
Then he thought of his own home.
It felt like there had never once been a scene like that here.
His mother was gone.
His father was away on a mission.
In this house, there was only him.
Kakashi walked in and sat down in the living room, hugging his knees as he silently stared at the moon outside the window.
Dad... Mom...
After a while, he stood up and went into his room.
It was time to sleep.
He still had school tomorrow.
Back on the street, Shin-chan and his parents slowly made their way home.
Misae was still scolding him, but her tone wasn't nearly as harsh as before.
"Do you know how long your dad and I searched for you? First we went to the training ground, but you weren't there. Then later we ran into a vegetable seller who said he saw you going this way with Kakashi..."
"Mhm."
"And next time, if you're not coming home for dinner, you tell us ahead of time. Got it?"
"Got it." Shin-chan nodded.
"And if you eat at someone else's house, be polite. You can't just focus on eating—you should help clean up too."
Shin-chan's steps paused for a moment.
"Um... Mom."
"Yeah?"
"I did help Kakashi clean up the dishes today."
Misae blinked, and a small pleased smile appeared on her face. "Oh? That's good, then."
"Then I broke two plates."
Misae's next words got stuck in her throat.
Hiroshi couldn't help laughing beside her.
Misae took a deep breath.
"Nohara Shinnosuke."
"Here!"
"Forget it. Since you actually tried to help on your own, I won't say anything this time."
Shin-chan grinned. After walking a few more steps, he suddenly remembered something.
"Mom, Kakashi's home alone right now."
Misae's steps slowed.
"His dad went on a mission, and he doesn't know when he'll be back." Shin-chan looked down and kicked a little stone on the road. "He cooks for himself and eats by himself."
Misae was quiet for a while, then looked down at him.
Shin-chan tilted his head up and blinked. "Mom, can Kakashi come eat at our house tomorrow?"
"Come to our house?"
"Yeah." Shin-chan nodded. "He eats alone, and that's too lonely. Our house has lots of people. It's lively."
Misae lowered her eyes to look at her son.
Moonlight fell across Shin-chan's face. His eyes were bright, and for once, there was none of his usual nonsense in them. He was just waiting seriously for an answer.
Suddenly, she felt that even though this child was usually a mess, sometimes he could be surprisingly thoughtful.
The corners of Misae's lips curled up a little.
"Sure."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up even more. "Really?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow, after training, bring him home for dinner."
"That's great!" Shin-chan jumped up. "Then what are we eating tomorrow?"
Misae thought for a moment and started counting on her fingers. "If we're having a guest, we need to make something good. Shrimp tempura, braised pork, miso soup, maybe hamburger steak..."
Hiroshi cut in from the side. "Put a little more sugar in the braised pork this time. Last time it was kind of bland."
"Be quiet. Since when do I need you teaching me how to cook?"
"I was just making a suggestion..."
"That's not a suggestion. That's nitpicking."
"Alright, alright, you win."
Shin-chan listened to his parents bickering beside him, then looked up at the moon.
Kakashi was probably lonely at home right now.
Tomorrow, he definitely had to bring him over and let him try Mom's cooking. Sure, it wasn't as good as Kakashi's own cooking, but there were more people here.
And more people meant it was lively.
And lively meant you wouldn't feel lonely.
At the far end of the distant street, the little Hatake house stood quietly under the moonlight.
There was no light in the windows.
But the bamboo in the yard still rustled softly, as if someone were whispering.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 50 Chapters Ahead of Others!