Next Day... At the Academy
Johan's POV
Shikamaru yawned, his face half-buried in his arms.
"Man, it's a drag. My mom was yelling again. Said I need to stop slacking off."
I smiled, but not at him. Just a reflex. Something people expect.
Choji shoved another fistful of chips into his mouth.
"You guys want some?" he asked, clearly hoping we'd say no. He gripped the bag like it was treasure.
"I already ate my breakfast," I said calmly.
Naruto was crouched by Shino's desk, fascinated by the bugs crawling over his hands.
He laughed, carefree. Always so loud. So open. how easy emotions come to him. Like they don't weigh a thing.
I glanced toward the back of the room.
Koji sat alone, head low, completely still.
The air around him was thicker today. Tighter.
His aura, if you could call it that, was less like sadness and more like rot.
Heavy. Sour. Lingering.
He's unraveling slowly.
But not fast enough.
If I keep approaching him, others might start to talk. Ask questions. Wonder what I'm doing.
And I can't afford that.
I need shadows to work, not spotlights.
Then the solution came to me like a whisper.
Subtle. Quiet. Untraceable.
When the final bell rang and students began to pour out, I moved with the tide, just another leaf in the stream.
But as I passed Koji, I slipped a folded note into his pocket without a sound.
No one saw. No one ever does.
---
Koji's POV
I was walking home, head down, arms stuffed in my pockets.
That's when I felt it, paper. Something folded.
I pulled it out, puzzled, and opened it. Just a few words, scrawled neatly:
" I know you're scared. You don't have to tell me everything.
Just know you're not alone, you've got a friend. If talking is hard, we can write instead.
Just you and me. Our little secret."
My fingers trembled.
Everything used to be fine.
I lived with my mom. She wasn't a kunoichi or a hero. Just a kind, simple woman who worked too hard and loved me more than anything.
Then she started getting sick. And in two months, she was gone.
Just like that.
I never even got to say goodbye properly.
She was so proud when I got into the Academy… said I'd be the first real ninja in our family.
I wanted to show her my headband someday.
But that dream shattered when I was taken in by her cousin. A man who wore kindness like a mask.
At first, he was okay.
Then his business started failing. He drank more. Laughed less.
Then came the yelling.
Then the fists.
He told me I was just a burden. That he adopted me for the money my mom left… money he lost to gambling.
He said if I ever told anyone, he'd make sure I disappeared.
Said he had "connections" among ninjas.
Said no one would believe me anyway.
And I believed him.
Every word.
I've been slipping in the ranks, late to class, quieter than before, and drifting further away from everyone.
Even the teachers have started giving up.
My friends? Gone.
I don't blame them. Who wants to hang around someone who's always dragging around a storm cloud?
Then came Johan.
The "demon boy." That's what they called him.
I used to believe the rumors.
Now... I don't know.
He greeted me kindly when no one else even looked my way.
And yesterday, he talked to me. Like I mattered.
He asked me what was wrong.
Not with judgment. Not like a teacher or some hero trying to fix me.
He asked like… he already knew.
When he said "Did someone hurt you?" my heart nearly stopped.
I pulled my sleeves down. Hid the bruises. Like always.
Then he smiled, Johan's smile was calm. Still. Like the surface of a frozen lake.
But there was something behind it. A depth I couldn't see. Couldn't understand.
When he said "If you ever want help, come to me," something inside me cracked.
It's been so long since anyone said they wanted to help me.
I almost cried right there, but I didn't. I couldn't.
What if my uncle finds out?
He'll kill me.
I know he will.
But still…
Those words.
This Note..
I felt… warm in my heart.
Not the kind that burns, but the kind that slowly thaws something frozen.
Yes.
I can't tell anyone about it.
It's between us.
Just us.
I folded the note carefully, pressed it to my lips, and then ate it.
Bit by bit, like it was something sacred. Something that had to be kept safe, no matter what.
No one would ever find it.
I don't know what Johan is… but maybe, just maybe...
He's the friend I need.