I was jumping across the rooftops of Konoha, enjoying the wind on my face. My backpack was already packed for the mission, but before I left, I needed to find that messy little blonde to say goodbye.
Easier said than done. Konoha was a big village, and tracking down Naruto was turning out to be harder than expected. Just as I was about to check the orphanage run by Miss Kaori, I spotted him in a park.
Unfortunately, the sight made my heart clench.
There was Naruto, holding a ball. Alone. Instead of that bright smile that always made me happy, his face wore a sad expression as he watched the other kids playing on the other side of the park.
I landed softly near him. A few parents standing at a distance, throwing their usual disdainful glances at Naruto, seemed surprised by my presence. I didn't care about them. I only cared about him.
"Hey, Naruto!" I called.
"Kenshin-nii!" His head snapped up, and just like that, a huge smile lit up his face. "Wanna play with me?"
He ran over, hugging the ball to his chest, his hopeful expression making it even harder to say what I had to.
"Man, I'd love to, but not this time." I said, scratching the back of my head. "I've got a mission. I'll be out of the village for a few days."
His excitement faltered for a moment, disappointment flickering in his eyes. But the second the word "mission" registered, his curiosity took over.
"A mission? For real? Where? What do you have to do? Is it dangerous? Are you gonna fight bad guys?" He fired off questions so fast I couldn't help but laugh.
"Breathe, kid! One at a time." I ruffled his hair. He made an angry face but laughed too. "I'm heading to a place called the Land of Rivers. Just delivering something important."
"Whoa! The Land of Rivers?" His eyes sparkled with excitement.
Poor Naruto. If only he knew how boring this mission would probably be. A simple C-rank delivery job. Leaving the village was cool, sure, but I highly doubted anything interesting would happen.
"And of course…" I added casually, "I'll bring something back for you."
"Really? You mean it?!" He looked at me like I'd just promised him a lifetime supply of ramen.
"Of course!" I extended my pinky in his direction. "Pinky promise."
His eyes widened with joy before he locked his finger around mine with almost comical determination.
"Pinky promises can't be broken, believe it!" he reminded me, serious as ever.
But when I released his finger, his smile dimmed just a little.
"But… I won't have anyone to play with while you're gone…" he murmured looking at the ball in his hand.
I sighed. It was always the same. The kids in the village avoided him. "Demon child"… what a joke.
"How about I teach you a game?" I suggested, trying to cheer him up.
"But… what's the point? No one wants to play with me." he asked, skeptical.
"This game? You can play by yourself." I said, grabbing the ball from his hands.
"Really? How?"
"Watch closely." I threw the ball up and began juggling it with my feet. One, two, three…
The familiar rhythm, the soft thud of the ball against my foot—it hit me like a wave of nostalgia. Football… Damn, it had been a while. Back in my old life, I used to love this. My country was obsessed with it, and judging by how naturally my body moved, even in another life and another body, I still love this.
"Whoa! Kenshin-nii, you're amazing!" Naruto gaped at me in awe.
I chuckled and, just to impress him, popped the ball up, let it bounce off my knee, then my head, and finally trapped it with my foot before rolling it back to him.
"That was so cool!" He clutched the ball, his excitement rekindled.
"Now it's your turn." I crossed my arms, grinning. "Let's see what you got."
Naruto, being Naruto, went for it immediately. And, of course… the ball slipped right past him on the first try.
"Argh!" He grumbled, running after the ball.
"Easy there." I laughed. "It's tough at first. But the best part? You don't need anyone else to practice. The more you train, the better you get."
"On my own…?" He looked up at me, thoughtful.
"Yep. And when I come back…" I crouched to his level. "I wanna see you juggle that ball at least a hundred times without dropping it. Think you can do it?"
"A hundred?!" He squeezed the ball, then suddenly grinned, that same defiant fire in his eyes. "I'll do it! Believe it!"
"I know you will." I ruffled his spiky hair again. "I believe in you."
His smile was so big, so bright—it was like looking straight into the sun.
And in that moment, I knew.
I was heading out on my mission… but I had already completed another one.
One no one had assigned me.
Because maybe… being a ninja wasn't just about protecting the village.
It was about protecting smiles.
And that was one smile I wanted to see… for a long, long time.