Morning arrived with the sound of hammering.
Kamui balanced on a wooden ladder, carefully replacing a weathered roof beam on the workshop’s storage shed.
Daichi stood below, holding the ladder steady.
“You know…”
Daichi looked up.
“…if you fall, I’m not catching you.”
Kamui tightened another peg.
“Good.”
“I’d probably crush you.”
“Exactly.”
The old carpenter walked into the yard carrying another beam.
“I heard talking.”
“We’re discussing workplace safety.”
“No.”
He handed the beam upward.
“You’re avoiding work.”
Kamui accepted it with exaggerated seriousness.
“I’ve been discovered.”
An hour later…
The repairs were finished.
Kamui climbed down, wiping sweat from his forehead.
The old carpenter looked up at the roof.
“It won’t leak.”
Kamui smiled.
“High praise.”
“I didn’t praise you.”
“You didn’t complain.”
“…Fair.”
Daichi burst out laughing.
His father sighed.
“I regret hiring him.”
Kamui nodded.
“I’ve heard that every day.”
“And yet…”
The old man picked up his tools.
“…you keep coming back.”
Kamui looked around the workshop.
The smell of cedar.
The scratches on the workbench.
Daichi humming while organizing lumber.
He smiled.
“…Yeah.”
“I do.”
After lunch, Daichi handed Kamui a folded delivery note.
“Mind taking this table to the Nara district?”
Kamui accepted it.
“My first solo delivery?”
“You know the address?”
“I’ll ask.”
“Good enough.”
The table wasn’t heavy.
Just awkward.
Kamui walked carefully through Konoha’s streets, apologizing whenever someone had to step around him.
“Sorry.”
“My fault.”
“Coming through.”
An elderly woman laughed.
“You’re the polite carpenter.”
Kamui blinked.
“…That’s my reputation?”
“It could be worse.”
“I suppose.”
Eventually he reached a quiet neighborhood.
Large trees surrounded spacious homes.
Everything felt…
Calmer.
He checked the note.
Nara Residence.
“This should be it.”
He knocked.
A servant answered and led him inside.
The courtyard was beautiful.
Neatly trimmed grass.
A small pond.
The kind of place where people sat simply to think.
As Kamui carefully set the table down beneath the veranda, another voice drifted across the yard.
“You’re not from around here.”
Kamui turned.
A man in his thirties stood nearby with his hands tucked into his sleeves.
Dark hair tied back.
Calm eyes.
His expression looked almost sleepy.
But those eyes…
They missed nothing.
Kamui smiled politely.
“No.”
“You noticed.”
The man nodded.
“You walk while looking at everything.”
Kamui laughed.
“I’ve been caught.”
“Most villagers stop looking after a few years.”
“They already know what’s here.”
“And you don’t.”
“Exactly.”
The man stepped closer.
“Shikaku Nara.”
Kamui bowed lightly.
“Kamui.”
“I’ve heard your name.”
Kamui sighed dramatically.
“I hope the stories are improving.”
Shikaku’s lips curved ever so slightly.
“They’re…
unusual.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“I wasn’t offering one.”
“Close enough.”
For a few moments, neither spoke.
Shikaku studied him.
Not aggressively.
Simply…
Observing.
Finally he asked,
“Why Konoha?”
It wasn’t an interrogation.
Just curiosity.
Kamui looked around the courtyard before answering.
“I was looking for somewhere people still laughed.”
Shikaku raised an eyebrow.
“…That’s an unusual answer.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Shikaku glanced toward the street beyond the gate.
“Did you find it?”
Kamui smiled.
“I think I did.”
Silence settled between them.
Not awkward.
Comfortable.
Shikaku finally nodded once.
“Good.”
That single word carried surprising weight.
Kamui bowed politely.
“Then I’ll leave you to your afternoon.”
As he turned to go, Shikaku spoke again.
“Kamui.”
He looked back.
“You don’t act like someone who’s trying to impress people.”
“I’m not.”
“That’s rare.”
Kamui shrugged.
“I’m just trying to become someone I wouldn’t mind working beside.”
Shikaku watched him leave without another word.
Later that evening…
Shikaku sat beneath the shade of the old tree in the courtyard.
Yoshino stepped outside carrying tea.
“You’ve been thinking.”
“I usually am.”
“About what this time?”
Shikaku accepted the cup.
“The new carpenter.”
“The loud one?”
“You’ve heard about him too.”
She smiled.
“It’s a small village.”
Shikaku looked toward the sky.
“I can’t figure him out.”
“Is that bothering you?”
“A little.”
Yoshino waited.
After a while he continued.
“Most people want something.”
“Money.”
“Recognition.”
“Promotion.”
“They move toward it.”
“But him…”
He took a slow sip of tea.
“He seems content just…
becoming part of the village.”
Yoshino smiled softly.
“Is that so strange?”
Shikaku thought for a moment.
“…No.”
“I suppose it isn’t.”
He looked toward the fading sunset.
“It’s just…”
“…rare.”