The afternoon sun poured through the workshop windows, painting long strips of light across the wooden floor.
It had been one of those days where nothing seemed to go right.
A cabinet door refused to sit straight.
A shipment of hinges arrived in the wrong size.
Someone had ordered six stools.
Someone else had accidentally written sixteen.
Daichi discovered the mistake halfway through the morning.
The old carpenter had said exactly one word.
“Good.”
Neither Daichi nor Kamui knew whether he meant the mistake had been found…
or that they now had more work to do.
Neither asked.
By late afternoon the workshop had finally grown quiet.
Kamui sat outside on the front step with a cup of cold tea.
His shoulders ached.
His hands were covered in tiny scratches.
He stretched one arm.
Something popped.
“…I don’t know if that’s healthy.”
“No.”
Daichi sat beside him.
“It probably isn’t.”
For a while they watched people pass by.
A merchant pulling a cart.
Two shinobi arguing over a mission report.
A mother chasing after her little son.
Just ordinary life.
The sound of running footsteps echoed down the street.
Naruto.
He slowed as he reached the workshop.
Instead of rushing inside like usual…
He stopped.
“…You’re busy?”
Kamui looked toward the empty workshop.
“Not anymore.”
Naruto hesitated.
Then quietly walked over.
He sat beside Kamui without saying anything.
The two of them watched the street together.
Neither spoke.
After a minute…
Naruto let out a long sigh.
Kamui glanced sideways.
“Tough day?”
Naruto shrugged.
“Nothing happened.”
“And that’s bad?”
Naruto frowned.
“…It was just…”
He searched for the words.
“…Boring.”
Kamui nodded slowly.
“I know the feeling.”
Naruto looked surprised.
“You do?”
“I’ve had days where I wished something exciting would happen.”
“What did you do?”
Kamui thought for a moment.
“…Usually?”
“I waited.”
Naruto made a face.
“That’s a terrible answer.”
“It is.”
Kamui admitted.
“But most exciting things happen because people keep living until they do.”
Naruto considered that.
“…Still boring.”
Kamui laughed.
“I didn’t say it was fun.”
The old carpenter stepped outside carrying a newly finished chair.
He set it against the wall.
It was simple.
Strong.
Nothing fancy.
He looked at it for several seconds.
Then frowned.
“Kamui.”
“Yeah?”
“Bring the other one.”
“The old chair?”
“The old chair.”
Kamui disappeared inside and returned carrying another chair.
Its legs had been repaired more than once.
The backrest had tiny scratches from decades of use.
He placed it beside the new one.
The difference was obvious.
Naruto tilted his head.
“…Why keep that one?”
The old carpenter rested a hand on the old chair.
“I made this.”
Then he rested his other hand on the new chair.
“My father made that.”
Naruto blinked.
“…Really?”
The old man nodded.
“When he retired…”
“…he left it here.”
Kamui looked at the older chair more carefully.
He had used it almost every day.
He had never thought to ask where it came from.
The old carpenter lowered himself onto it.
It creaked softly.
Still sturdy.
Still dependable.
“My father said…”
He paused, almost as if hearing the words again.
“A workshop should always have one chair older than its owner.”
Silence settled over the street.
The old carpenter looked at the new chair.
“You finished this one.”
Kamui nodded.
“…Mostly.”
“You’ll use it.”
Another pause.
“And someday…”
His rough hand tapped the armrest of the chair beneath him.
“…someone else will.”
There was no ceremony.
No dramatic declaration.
The old carpenter simply stood up again, picked up a toolbox, and walked back inside.
The conversation was over.
Naruto stared at the two chairs.
“…Your boss is weird.”
Kamui smiled.
“…Yeah.”
“I think that’s why I like him.”
Naruto laughed.
“I was talking about you.”
“Oh.”
“…Fair.”
The sun had almost disappeared.
Naruto finally stood.
“I should go.”
“Homework?”
Naruto groaned.
“…Don’t remind me.”
He started walking away.
After a few steps he turned back.
“…Hey.”
Kamui looked up.
“You think…”
Naruto scratched his cheek.
“…when I’m older…”
“…I’ll have a place people come back to?”
Kamui didn’t answer immediately.
He looked at the workshop.
At the old chair.
At the new one waiting beside it.
Then back at Naruto.
“I don’t know.”
Naruto’s shoulders slumped slightly.
Kamui smiled.
“But…”
“I don’t think places become important.”
Naruto waited.
“I think…”
“…people do.”
Naruto stood quietly for a second.
Then gave a small nod.
“…See you tomorrow.”
Kamui raised a hand.
“Tomorrow.”
Naruto ran off before the evening swallowed the last of the sunlight.
Kamui remained on the step for another minute.
Then he stood, picked up the new chair, and carried it inside.
He placed it beside the workbench where the old carpenter always worked.
The older man glanced at it once.
He didn’t say anything.
He simply adjusted it by half an inch.
Then returned to sanding a cabinet door.
Kamui smiled to himself.
Somehow…
That felt exactly right.