Oh, come on! Not again!

I woke up to a bad surprise. Just like the previous day, I hadn't added a single new word to the mission report.

On the other hand, I had soaked it with my saliva.

What time is it? ...no matter, if everyone is still sleeping I can still continue writing as nothing ever happened...

"Wake up, Choji! WAKE UP!"

Iwao's voice.

I felt his hand grabbing the pillow over my head.

I only had a fraction of a second to decide where to hide the report.

Iwao lifted the pillow.

"How in the world do you sleep?! Don't tell me you're annoyed by the light! ...uh?"

"Goo'monin'... 'wao... MUNF... I mean, good morning, Iwao! What time is it?"

I had eaten the report.

Literally.

Thank goodness it was made with rice paper.

"It's near breakfast time and everyone has already went downstairs" he replied, arching a brow "but I see you've just served yourself an appetizer..."

"It's just a midnight snack, I swear! ...it's against the rules, isn't it?"

Iwao crossed his arms, but smiled nonetheless.

"Let's put it this way. If Yori ever finds out, at the very least she will whip your butt. Don't worry though, I won't snitch to her. I don't want to have you on my conscience."

"Oh. Hum... Thanks!"

"No problem! Now hurry and dress up, I wait you at our table, same seat as yesterday!"

"Okay!"

I waited until he left the dormitory, then I allowed myself a big sigh of relief.

That was a close one... Well, I think I've learned my lesson. From now on, I'll write down the report on daytime. I just have to find the perfect moment.

I quickly dressed up and joined the others in the cafeteria. With great delight, I found out Iwao had saved me a seat in the very middle of the table.

If good morning starts in the morning, that would have been a really beautiful day. I could've feel it!

To top it all off, thanks to my good mood, I managed to figure out the first move I should have make to resume the investigation: go and pay a visit to Isoka's hideout.

If the guy who had snooped around, and left the trap door open, was the same guy hiding in the food wagon... and if he was the same criminal I was after... I couldn't dismiss the chance that he had left some trace behind. I had to check it out.

Keeping in mind Isoka's instructions, after breakfast I waited until everyone had left the cafeteria and Yori had locked herself in the kitchen. Then, as discreetly as possible, I walked out into the courtyard and headed to the playground.

I inspected every suspicious looking nook and cranny, even the spaces between every single blade of grass, but didn't found anything.

So, I examined the little wooden house.

As soon as I lifted the trap door, a terrible smell of rainwater enveloped my face. Isoka wasn't kidding, the downpour from the previous day had flooded the pit to the very brim.

Damn, I didn't think the damage was this serious! Poor Isoka... Whoever it was that sabotaged his hideout will pay for it, I give my word! ...for the moment, let's get to work.

All I had to do was to pull out the cellophane covering the walls of the pit, in order to remove all the water inside.

Easier said than done.

That was one the most inconvenient and delicate handwork I'd ever happened to do in my life: I was forced to be in an uncomfortable position, practically on all fours, and since both my hands were occupied I had to use my head and my back to keep the doors lifted up; furthermore, I didn't consider the fact that the cellophane was fixed to the hole by several little tacks.

The idea of dismantling all the work Isoka had done was almost heartbreaking, by I had no choice.

I began by loosening the stacks, one by one, without removing them altogether, afraid that one edge of the cellophane might fall and let the water pour over.

After completing that first phase, I wrapped my finger around two edges, counted to five and, veeery carefully and veeery slowly, I pulled.

Just as I hoped, all the stacks tore away almost in unison and fell in the water.

All right!

The first part of my work was completed, but now came the second and hardest. My hands were holding a full-fledged gigantic water balloon: one wrong move and it would have popped, flooding the pit forever.

The task seemed downright impossible, but the desire of righting the wrong of my little friend gave me the necessary strength. I clenched my teeth, tensed the muscles in my arms to the max, and pulled.

Slowly and steadily I lifted the water-filled bag and, crawling backwards on my knees, I eventually managed to got it out of the house entirely.

Phew... I made it!

I wiped the sweat from my forehead, proud of myself.

There was still the third part of the work to do, but it was also the easiest. What was left to do, was to find a good place, away from everyone's sights, in which I could have pour all the water out and let the cellophane dry up.

So, I begun dragging the "water balloon" towards the forest, proceeding backwards and turning my head ever so often to see where I was going.

After so much walking and so many protrudring root branches that seemed like placed there on purpose to make me trip, I eventually found a clearing surrounded by the trees, large enough for the sunlight to illuminate it all.

Letting the cellophane go, I stood looking as the flowing rainwater filled the entire clearing, creating a gigantic puddle.

Everyrhing went smoothly, I still can't believe it! After such a work, I guess I actually deserve a secret snack all for myself...

Mh? Is that...

I spotted a tiny black ball detaching from the bottom of the cellophane. I took it just before the water could've swooped it away, then I dried it a bit with the hem of my shirt to examine it closely.

Dark chocolate, I think... And, if my nose isn't tricking me, I sense a pinch of chili pepper as well. No doubt about it, this is a Soldier Pill!

Since I never brought pills with me and my personal stock was secured deep inside my duffle bag, that specific pill should've just belong to the Masquerader.

I couldn't help but jump with joy. I had finally found my very first clue!

That scoundrel must be using Soldier Pills, otherwise he couldn't keep his transformation on forever. If he's aware of Isoka's secret hideout, most likely he will pass by it again sooner or later... Oh yeah, I'm on the right track!

Satisfied, I stuffed the pill away in my pocket.

One second later, I was almost scared to death.

In the reflection of the puddle, I saw a man that wasn't there before.

"It's about time you shown up, Choji Akimichi."

I looked up. He was one of the ANBU from the surveillance squad that surrounded the area. Due to his cat mask, I recognized him as the same ninja I met before beginning my mission.

"O-oh... Hi there, Pon..."

"Kon."

"Of course, Kon! I just got confused, eh eh! ...eh."

The ANBU placed his hands on his hips, shaking his head.

"Great, you already forgot my name. I shouldn't be surprised anyway, after all, you also forgot to bring us a report for two days in a row..."

"That's not true! I started writing it down every night!"

"Started? What would you mean by that? What just happened to the report?"

Feeling myself shrinking with embarrassment, I innocently started laying with my indexes.

"I... ate it..."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"I mean... It's just like you said, I got mixed up with so many things that I ended up losing the sense of time and forgot about it entirely..."

"Whatever, I don't care. Anyway, now that you are here, tell me how the mission is proceeding. Do you have an idea of who the Masquerader might be?"

"Sadly, not yet. There are at least fifty orphans that live there, so I didn't have the time to get to know each and every one of them."

Kon sighed, disappointed.

"I should have expected it..."

"W-wait! I may not know all of them, but there's a couple of kids that seem more suspicious than the others!"

"Oh, very well then. And of what foundation do you consider them suspicious?"

"I strongly believe those two were the last kids to join the orphanage before the murder occurred. ...It's not much to accuse them, I know."

"You can as well say you didn't discover anything at all! More kids could have pleaded to be taken in some days before those two, didn't you think about it?"

"Of course I did!..."

"Then why did you only concentrate on those two? The other kids weren't as interesting for you?"

"It's not like that!" I protested, barely straining myself from raising my voice "As of today, those two kids are the only ones I know the time of their arrival, and this is only because one of them told me so spontaneously! Please bear with me, I can't just go around asking everyone personal questions! The Masquerader will suspect me if I do so!"

"I guess you have a point. It's a rightful precaution... Wait a moment, what the hell do you mean with "go around asking everyone"? Didn't you even remotely consider the idea of checking the adoption books or whatever they use to keep track of everyone's arrival?"

"It's the very first thing I had in mind, believe me! I saw a book of that sort when I first took a foot inside the orphanage, however... it was filled with nothing but drawings and doodles."

"Drawings... and doodles? Explain yourself."

"I asked where I could have signed myself in, but one of the two ladies said that they do nothing of the sort."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Not at all! From what I understood, there's no need to leave your full name or tell your life story: in this orphanage, everyone can receive hospitality just by asking. Strange, don't you think?"

Kon remained silent for several seconds. Even with his face covered, I could tell from his movements that the last bit of information had left him overwhelmed.

"...dammit!" he then exclaimed, kicking a small rock away "If only we knew it sooner! Dammit!"

"What... What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Mechanically, he rose an arm to point the direction behind me.

"Pack your things and return to Konoha. Your mission is canceled."

Canceled. Canceled. Canceled.

That word echoed in my head like a bell.

"W-what do you mean by canceled? Tell me, why should I quit the investigation? Why in the world should I leave that murderer on the loose?"

"We won't leave him on the loose, you idiot! ...for heaven's sake, can't you get it on your own? I already thought you were stupid, and today I have the confirmation!"

I felt like a spark exploding inside me. Who the hell did he think he is?

I took some steps forward and put up my fists. I was so enraged I didn't even notice my feet were now half submerged in the puddle.

"Mh. You'd deserve to remain in the dark, but since I pity you so much I'll enlighten you" Kon continued, not at all intimidated by my reaction "Do you recall the reason why you were ordered to find the Masquerader in the most discreet way possible and under a false identity?"

"...of course, I remember! To avoid a diplomatic incident with the Land of Rivers! So what?"

"Are you really that oblivious? Think about it. As you just told me, the orphans are not registered and everybody can join in just by asking. Which means, that orphanage is actually an illegal activity."

"I repeat: so what?"

Kon scoffed behind his mask.

"In other words... Since the orphanage isn't legal, the leaders of the Land of Rivers won't give a damn if one day a group of foreign ninjas decides to burn it to the ground in order to find a serial killer."

I widened my eyes.

"Burn it... to the ground? Do you... mean..."

"If only we knew the Masquerader had taken cover in a place that doesn't protect him at all, we could have save ourselves weeks and weeks of useless surveillance and end him from the very beginning! ...well, better late than never. Now that we know of this fallacy, it's only a matter of time before we can end the Masquerader's career for good."

That said, Kon turned his back to me and begun walking away.

"Hey! Where are you going now?"

"I'm going to give new instructions to the other members of the team. You said there are about fifty orphans, right? With a perfect coordination by our part, the Masquerader won't have the slightest chance to escape the massacre."

I felt a wave of panic through me. I couldn't believe in what was going on.

They actually had the intent of slaying with no mercy all those innocent children, just to be sure to take the killer down with them!?

I won't let them!

Desperately, I ran forwards. The sounds of my steps on the puddle alarmed Kon,; he swiftly turned around, his katana in hand, but I ducked just in time and charged him with a last dive.

Unfortunately, he immediately escaped my hold with the Substitution Jutsu. Before I could even realize I was now holding an inanimate log, Kon stroke me with a kick to my side, taking my breath away.

"I understand where you are coming from, Choji Akimichi. But you have to put it this way: by protecting those children, you're also protecting an enemy of Konoha. The prospect of harming innocent people doesn't delight me neither, but me and my comrades were given the order to put the Masquerader down once and for all, with any measure necessary. You have to deal with it."

That said, Kon started to leave again.

His kick had left me paralized on the ground and doubled over in pain; it should have taken me a couple of minutes to recover, but, even if I was at my best, what could I have done against an entire team of ANBU?

I could've never stopped them, on my own...

But maybe I knew someone who could have.

"It was Danzo... the one who personally sent me here... you know."

Without looking back, Kon stopped.

"What gives? We're here because of him as well. Frankly, an order given to an ANBU squad is far more important than one given to a mere chunin."

He's got a point... What should I do now? "I understand, but... If you decide to ravage the orphanage, you'll eventually interfere with the mission Danzo has assigned me... This could make him very mad... Isn't it better for anyone to wait for his opinion, rather than immediately take action? Just to be entirely sure... Kon? Did you hear me?"

I looked up at him.

I could swear, I saw him slightly shaking in fear.

"...you clunkily expressed yourself, Choji Akimichi. Nonetheless, what you just said is reasonable. You'll never be sure enough, when you're dealing with Danzo..."

"What's that you say?"

"Forget I said anything. Fine. I'll inform Danzo via a messenger hawk and ask for further instructions. As for you... Keep doing whatever you were doing."

Before I could have the chance of thanking him, Kon was already gone.

Little by little the pain in my side eventually eased, until I was able to stand up again.

But if I told I felt better, I'd definitely lie.

I managed to convince the ANBU to not assault the orphanage and take more time... yeah, but how much time did I take, exactly?

...

With nothing else to do there, I returned to the orphanage.

Not without some trouble: lost as I was in my thoughts, I had to make a very tortuous zigzag path through the trees before I got back to the courtyard.

I'll better think of a way to retrace my steps, before I decide to venture in the woods again ... Oh? What's he doing?

Isoka was kneeling in front of the hiding spot. From the way he was scratching the back of his neck, I knew he had just discovered the empty hole and was dismayed. I ran over to him.

"Hey, hey! It's me, Isoka! You don't have to worry, everything is fine."

"There is nothing fine! The water is... is gone..."

"I know. Let me explain."

In short, I told him what I had managed to do. After the explanation, Isoka took a great sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, for a moment I thought I've gone crazy... I came here just now to try and empty the pit with a bucket, but when I saw that the water wasn't there anymore I was scared... Thanks, Choji! But... There was no need to go that far..."

"Are you kidding?" The sense of guilt from the mess I made didn't let me sleep! I had to do something to be forgiven! ...because I'm forgiven, right?"

Isoka simply smiled.

An awkward silence fell soon after. I didn't know what else to say, and I was a bit ashamed to look him right in his eyes.

I was his first and only friend, and yet how many things was I hiding from him? The fact that someone else had discovered his secret spot, the Soldier Pill I had just found, let alone my true identity...

"Listen, Isoka..."

"What is it?"

I hesitated. Was it really a smart move?

In that instant, I found the perfect question to ask.

"...there! Why did you want to empty the hole anyway? After all, we already decided to found a bigger hiding spot for ourselves. Were you searching for something you lost?"

It looked like my question caught him by surprise.

"N-no, I didn't lose anything. A-and I didn't change my mind about building a new hideout. The fact is... I'm still feeling bounded to this place, so I didn't want to leave it flooded like that... Oh, no!"

Isoka suddenly froze over. I followed his gaze, and saw five or six members of Iwao's group running towards us.

"Choji, hold him still!" one of them yelled.

No, damn it. No!...

"Hey" I heard Isoka whispering "Do as he says, quickly!"

I obeyed, even though unconvincingly, and put a hand on the collar of his shirt to pretend I was holding him tight.

"Good work, Choji! Don't let him run away!" the alleged leader of the group said again, before turning to his friends "Go call Iwao, so maybe we can finally put all this story behind us!"

"It won't end" Isoka lowly mumbled "even when he'll realize I'm not hiding anything, he will still hunting me down until I admit that he's right and I'm wrong. Play along, Choji. I don't want Iwao to be mad at you as well."

I moved my eyes, back and forth, from where Iwao should have appeared, to Isoka.

Without realizing it, I loosened my grip on him.

"Choji, what are you doing?!"

Iwao appeared at that very moment from around the corner of the building. There was no more time for hesitation.

"I'm sorry Isoka, but I can't stand this farce any longer! This time, I want to stay by your side!"

"...I understand. Time for Plan B. Forgive me, Choji."

"Forgive you for wha... AH!"

Isoka just bit... No, he clawed my fingers, before running away as fast as he could.

The other boys inevitably went on the chase, but it was already too late to catch him again.

"Choji, are you all right? Did that god forsaken brat make you bleed?" Iwao questioned me with apprehension. He seemed... sincerely worried about me.

"I'm fine... Ow... I'm so sorry, I finally had him but I didn't take his sharp teeth into account. Man, it hurts..."

"He'll pay for this too, I promise! In the meantime, you should go to the infirmary and let Miss Hiromi check your hand. I'm going with you!"

"Thanks... Thanks, I mean it, but there's no need. See you later."

Without another word, I ran back into the orphanage.

I almost felt sorry for leaving Iwao like that. If it was another time, I'd definitely appreciated his care, but for that day I had enough of been thrown in between him and Isoka. Was there really no way to make them get along?

...

I didn't went to the infirmary like Iwao had suggested me. Instead, I headed straight up to the second floor and in the dormitory. I had to make sure my reserve of Soldier Pills was still there where I'd left it.

I had my hand on the handle and was about to flick it, when I heard a voice I knew too well coming from the other side of the door.

"You already told me many times before you don't like him. I don't have a short memory."

It was Nao. And, most likely, he was talking to Naoki. Hoping that no one else would come up at that moment, I quietly flattened myself against the door and put my ear to it.

"I don't like him either, believe me" Nao's voice spoke again "But if we want him to leave us alone, we have to befriend him. So, what else did you have to tell me?"

At first, I couldn't ear anything of what Naoki was saying. Her voice was sweet, dim and very low, just like her. I had to cover my other ear with a hand in order to finally be able to receive something resembling a coherent word.

"...noticed Yori and Miss Hiromi didn't left the kitchen... ...there were also various backpacks piled up in a corner. Today they will take us all somewhere for a trip, I thin..."

"Wait a second. If you saw all those things, that means you must have followed them inside the kitchen! Did they notice your presence?"

Naoki stayed quiet, but I figured she must have shook her head to say "no", if Nao's immediate reply was anything to go by.

"A-ah! See? It's precisely thanks to your short stature that you can make yourself useful!"

Useful?!

"It's not funny!" Naoki shrieked back irritated, before lowering her voice once again "...understand... take them now? Nobody... see us."

"I agree, you made a good call."

The two siblings didn't say anything else, but I clearly heard them munching on something.

What in the world were they eating?

I was strongly tempted to get in and catch them in the act, but a part of me was against the idea. Even though my previous encounter with Kon had urged me to accelerate my investigation, I couldn't afford to make reckless moves.

Detaching my ear from the door, I silently walked backwards to the end of the hallway, and begun marching on the spot. I probably looked like an idiot, but my plan worked nonetheless: when Nao and Naoki left the dormitory soon after, I gave them the impression that I had just arrived from the stairs.

"'Morning" I saluted nonchalantly "Did you sleep well, Naoki?"

The child nodded.

"I'm glad for you. I'm going to take a small nap as well. See ya!"

I walked past them and again to the dormitory, though I kept on observing them with the corner of my eye.

They looked even more relaxed than I was pretending to be, but I was sure they were hiding something.

After closing the door behind me, I darted to Nao's bed to examine it from top to bottom. Nothing. I kneeled to look under the bed. Still nothing. I even dared to stick my nose inside his drawer. Nothing but nothing.

They didn't leave behind even the tiniest of crumbles. What if they were eating Soldier Pills, too? Even worse, what if they were eating MY Soldier Pills? Only one way to find out.

I went to get my duffel bag, put it on the bed, sat down and opened it to check it.

Everything is still here, thank goodness! Still, this doesn't exclude the chance that Nao and Naoki were actually eating Soldier Pills of their own... Speaking of pills, I'd better do a comparison with the one I just found, just to be sure.

I stuffed one hand in my pocket to grab the pill.

...mh?

Retrieving it, I also inadvertently dragged out a handful of folded pieces of paper that fell at my feet.

After comparing the pills and closing the bag, I picked up the papers and opened them.

...this is Rokuro's love song! I had completely forgotten it!

I had asked him to lend it to me so that I could correct any mistakes. However, my intentions were a little different: since the song was dedicated to Yori, maybe between the verses I could have found some information that would've help me on knowing her better.

I begun to read it... After I deciphered Rokuro's flaky handwriting and put all the lines back in the right order.

Yori, Yori, Yori / since the moment you arrived / my heart, you stole (stoled?) / and you never returned it (ited?)

Yori, Yori, Yori / since the moment you arrived / the life of everyone, you improved / as the untiredable worker you are (ared?)

Definitely, something in the lyrics was off... But, hey, I never even wrote a song myself, so who was I to judge?

Yori, Yori, Yori / always serious, always grumpy /when you smiled you were shinier than the sun (sunny?)

Because the rats, your smile they stole / since than, the same you were no more (mole?)

Yori, I decide, my heart, you can keep / if you don't care about me, I'll live with it (ip?)

Even my teeth, if you want, I let you steal / because now it matter more, to see you smile again (againeal? agail?)

...it wasn't so bad. The rhymes needed to be fixed, but what mattered the most was the message, and in my opinion Rokuro had conveyed perfectly.

He hoped to have his love returned, but above all he wished for Yori to be happy.

Wiping a tear off my cheek, I focused once more on the lyrics.

If I got it right, Yori wasn't always as ill-tempered as she is today, but she became like that after a certain thing occurred. "The rats, your smile they stole", Rokuro said... He must be referring to the story about the rats invasion in the gym, no doubt about it. However, I already know it's just a lie the two ladies came up with to hide the discovery of a dead body.

The wheels in my head started to turn faster and faster.

Let's pretend for a moment that the rats are really there. How is it possible that, of all the orphans that live here, it's only Yori the one who was shocked to the point of changing her mood entirely? Maybe it's because, unlike the other orphans, she saw the rats closely...

However, two days ago Iwao told me that Mistress Azumi did manage to seal the rats inside the gym before the others could have see them. Therefore...

My eyes widened.

If Yori had changed the day of the rats' invasion, which is actually the day the body was found, that must mean she saw something! Yori knows something about the murder!

I jumped to my feet, overwhelmed by the excitement. I finally had a lead to follow!

Who would have guessed? Yori, the person who I feared would have hindered my investigation, is actually the one I need to keep an eye on the most! I'm on a roll!...

"Weren't you supposed to be in the infirmary, Choji?"

Without even knocking, Iwao had entered the room in that very moment.

In a panic, I did the stupidest thing that could be done.

"MUNF... Yef, but sinfe I gof beffer aweady, you know... GULP."

Rokuro's song ended up in my stomach, joining the mission report.

Damn my instinct!

"So you decided to enjoy another one of your secret snacks. I don't know why, but I was expecting it." Iwao burst out laughing, giving me one of his usual pats on the shoulder. "You have all the rights to celebrate, though. I was looking for you to share some wonderful news!"

"Really? What is it?"

"We've just found the place where that brat Isoka was always hiding! Go figure, that little devil had dug a hole right under our noses, inside the little house near the slides and the swings! And it's all thanks to you if we discovered it, you know? Since you caught Isoka right in that area, we got suspicious and checked it out!"

I had to strain my lips in a forceful smile, because I was actually feeling like dying inside.

All the work I had done that morning... Scratch that, all the work Isoka had done had been completely thrown away.

And it was all my fault.

"...Choji, are you okay? You look a little pale..."

"I-I'm as sane as ever, don't' worry... Since you're here, Iwao, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can. Go on."

I took a very deep and very loud breath, before I went on.

"I know you don't like talking about it, but I still want to know what Isoka did to wrong you."

In less than a second, Iwao went from smiling to frowning and tore his gaze away from me.

"If you already know I don't like talking about it, why are you asking me?"

"Well, if I knew what he did to you... I'd be even more motivated to "hunt" him, that's why!"

"Isn't it enough for you to know that he pisses me off? Isn't that motivation enough for you?"

"How does he make you angry? That's what I want to understand!"

"You don't have to understand anything! It's a problem between me and him, that's it! Stop asking questions!"

"Okay okay, I'll stop. At the very least, though, tell me why you wanted to catch Isoka the other day. What do you want from him? Is it something he stole from you?"

While I was still talking, Iwao had started to do little jumps on the spot. I was afraid that he could have dag a hole in the floor at any moment.

"I don't... wanna... talk... about it ! Aaaaaargh !"

That animal scream chilled the blood in my veins. Before I knew it, he had already run off slamming the door.

I... I just wanted to know your side of the story... What kind of mess have I done?!

I rushed out of the dorm. I checked into the bathroom, but found it empty. Iwao must had already gotten away. I ran down the stairs and checked the lower floor too, but he wasn't there either.

I was about to go downstairs but, midway through, I met Nana, Iwao's red-haired friend.

"Oh... Hum, hello... By chance, did you see Iwao pass by..."

Nana glared at me. There wasn't need for anything else to tell me that I messed up.

"I thought you were smarter, Choji. What the hell were you thinking, making him angry like that?"

I bowed my head.

"Yeah... He lashed out at you, didn't he? I'm sorry, it's all my fault... uh?"

Nana put a hand on my forearm. Maybe I was wrong, but I got the impression that, with that gesture, she was trying to... support me?

"Look, I don't have the faintest idea of what he's planning to make you pay" she whispered to me. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it will be humiliating. Try to bear it, and you'll see that this day will end faster."

With those enigmatic words, Nana turned on her heels and walked back into the hall.

I should have secretly thanked her for that advice but, honestly, I had no intention of waiting for Iwao to "make me pay"! If he was mad at me, then he had to tell me to my face!

Clenching my fists and stomping down the stairs I made it into the hall, more determined than ever to face him openly.

I had just glimpsed him in the distance, surrounded by his peers...

However, before I could reach him, just in that moment Miss Hiromi came rushing from the canteen, beating a ladle against a frying pan to get everyone's attention.

"My little angels, I bring good news! The rain from yesterday did not cause any damage, so today we can go on our weekly trip as usual!"

At that news, a chorus of enthusiastic "hurray!" echoed through the room.

That's right, the trip Naoki was talking about. I wonder where we will go...