Spiraju

This scene is so adorable. It reminded me of Teuchi’s chapter from Konoha Hiden.

“Heyo, lad. Do you wanna come over and eat something?”

Teuchi had called out with a smile on his face, but the young boy jolted with a start, his whole body shaking.

It had just passed dinner time, so the shop was empty. Teuchi had noticed the child constantly sneaking glances towards Ichiraku’s as he wandered aimlessly on the streets.

He hadn’t just seen the boy today, either. The kid been wandering around here a lot the past few days, and Teuchi had gotten used to the sight of him. He would always walk hesitantly towards the shop, and then walk away, back and forth without ever actually coming in.

Sooner or later, Teuchi had found himself getting curious about the young boy always wondering around his field of vision.

It was because every time Teuchi saw him, the child was all alone.

Today as well, the boy was hunching his shoulders against the cold weather, sneaking quick peeps inside the store every few minutes. There weren’t any other customers around to deal with anyway, so Teuchi just instinctively called out to him.

The child approached him slowly, trembling with nerves. But Teuchi slid out a bowl of ramen towards the boy, and that tiny, frightened face instantly lit up.

- translation by cacatuasulphureacitrinocristata