A/N: Alright… I've decided… I'm not good at writing 3rd POV so I'ma be going back to writing in Murakami's 1st POV. I feel that would bring out the story in my head better. Though I might switch things up depending on the scenario.
…
The morning breeze felt especially pleasant as Murakami, Hideki and Sora slowly walked through the streets of konoha.
This was something particularly new to them considering that for the greater part of their lives, they had gotten used to being at the academy at this time.
"Where do you think we should check out first?" Sora asked as he caught up to Murakami who suddenly felt annoyed at the abrupt disturbance of his mood.
But he quickly curbed the annoyance. He wasn't operating as a single individual at the moment, but as a member of a team.
"I was thinking we should first take in the ambience of this morning." Murakami replied with a soft smile. "I know a nice place, we could chat while enjoying the fresh air."
Sora looked a bit taken aback, "Aren't we going to check out the places sensei asked us to check out?"
"Of course we will." Murakami nodded. "I already have the locations memorized, but what's the rush?"
"There is no rush, but shouldn't doing what sensei asked supposed to be our priority?" Hideki asked quizzically.
Murakami sighed internally but nodded. "It should, but Sensei never gave us a timeline to stick to, so why bother sticking to one?"
"Yeah…that makes sense." Sora muttered to himself.
"We're finally Genin, don't you want to enjoy the feeling of not being an academy student a bit?" Murakami continued in an enticing tone.
Sora and Hideki suddenly had an awe struck light flash in their eyes.
"Yeah…why hadn't we thought of this?" Hideki halted in his steps. "We're Genin now!"
"Yes, you are, no need to announce it to the whole village that you just graduated from the academy." Sora's sarcastic words followed up.
Murakami smiled at the exchange. Hideki was indeed embarrassing them by shouting that out loud, but Sora also had his way with words.
Guess it's one of the perks of being a conscious observer. Murakami thought to himself.
"Sensei also said that this is a part of our team bonding exercise, so don't you think we should take our time learning about each other?" Murakami continued speaking as he walked ahead calmly.
"You're not wrong, but where do we even start?" Hideki asked.
Murakami slowed his steps slightly, eyes drifting toward the rooftops before settling ahead again.
"Somewhere quiet," he said. "Not everything has to start with effort."
He turned down a narrower path, one less crowded than the main street, and the noise of the village softened.
The path led upward, a gentle slope that opened into a small clearing overlooking part of the village.
It wasn't anything special at first glance, just a worn wooden railing, a tree that cast a generous shade, and a view of tiled roofs stretching into the distance.
It wasn't as tranquil as the Hokage Mountain, but it was… calm.
Hideki let out a low breath as he stepped beside him. "Huh… this place is actually nice."
Sora didn't say anything immediately, his eyes scanning the area out of habit before he leaned lightly against the railing.
"You come here often?" he asked.
Murakami shook his head. "Not often. Just enough." He rested his arms on the railing, gaze unfocused as it lingered over the village below.
'From up here, everything looks… manageable.' He thought quietly. 'People moving, routines repeating… it almost feels like nothing ever changes.' But he knew better.
One's perception of reality was limited to what laid within the bounds of their awareness.
"Just enough? Isn't that the same as often?" Hideki asked quizzically.
Murakami shook his head slightly. "Often means routine. Just enough means intention."
Hideki blinked, his brows creasing in confusion. "…That sounds the same."
"It isn't," Murakami replied calmly. "Routine is unconscious. Intention isn't."
Sora glanced sideways at him. "So you come here when you want to think?"
Murakami didn't answer immediately, instead, his eyes shifted, tracing the movement of people below… the shop keeper attending to his customers, a shinobi leaping across rooftops, a child chasing after another with careless laughter.
"…When I need to see things clearly," he said.
Hideki rested his arms on the railing as well, leaning forward. "See what?"
Murakami's gaze didn't move. "Life unfolding."
Sora frowned slightly."…Life unfolding?" he repeated, a bit unsure.
Murakami nodded slightly. "Yeah. Just… watching how people move. What they do without thinking."
Hideki tilted his head. "Like what?"
Murakami pointed lazily down the street. "That shopkeeper… see how he smiles the same way at every customer? Even when he's tired."
Hideki squinted. "…Oh. Yeah, I see it."
"And that kid," Murakami continued, shifting his finger. "He keeps looking back while running. He's expecting the other one to chase him."
Sora crossed his arms, observing more carefully now. "…So you're just… paying attention?"
"More or less."
Hideki scratched his cheek. "That sounds kinda boring."
Murakami shrugged. "It is."
Sora let out a short breath. "Then why do it?"
Murakami glanced at him. "…Because boring things are usually the ones people miss."
That made Sora pause for a second.
Hideki, on the other hand, just leaned further over the railing. "So if I watch long enough… I'll start seeing stuff too?"
Murakami nodded once. "If you stop thinking about what you want to see."
Sora clicked his tongue lightly. "That's harder than it sounds."
"…Yeah," Murakami agreed. 'It sounds simple… but it isn't.'
His gaze lingered on the street below, but his thoughts turned inward.
'Most people don't even realize they're doing it… seeing what they want, not what's there.'
For kids, it was even worse because they were still full of expectations, what a shinobi should be, what strength should look like, how things should go.
They hadn't failed enough yet to doubt those ideas planted by family and society.
Hadn't been proven wrong enough to question themselves.
So when they looked at something, they didn't really observe it.
They filtered it through their own lenses, twisted it, and fit it into something familiar so it made sense to them.
'To stop doing that…' Murakami exhaled lightly. 'You'd have to let go of what you think you know.'
And that wasn't something most people, especially kids,.were willing to do.
A small silence followed, but this time it felt lighter.
Hideki suddenly straightened. "Alright, I get it now!"
Sora raised a brow. "You do?"
"Yeah," Hideki grinned. "We're just standing here doing nothing… but on purpose."
Murakami blinked.
Then, after a brief pause…
"…That's one way to put it."
Sora snorted. "Only you could make that sound like a strategy."
Hideki puffed his chest slightly. "Hey, I'm learning."
Murakami turned away from the railing, pulling out the folded map.
"…Alright," he said. "Then let's move before you forget."
…
In front of the Hokage Building, the trio of Murakami, Sora and Hideki stood looking at the two-story structure in silence.
It wasn't particularly flashy at first glance.
It was a wide, sturdy building with smooth walls and a tiled roof, built more for function than appearance.
But there was a certain weight to it… something that couldn't be seen, only felt.
The large kanji for "Fire" hung boldly at the front commanding attention from anyone who looked at it.
Murakami's eyes lingered on it for a moment longer than the others. His thoughts, a mystery to anyone but himself.
"…So this is it," Hideki muttered, his voice a mix of curiosity and awe.
Sora crossed his arms, glancing around more than at the building itself. "We've been this close before… just never actually came in from the front."
Murakami nodded slightly. That much was true.
The Academy sat within the same general space, yet there had always been an invisible line separating students from this place.
Back then, this building had just been… there. Something distant and not meant for them yet.
Now, standing here as shinobi, that distance felt… thinner.
"Feels different," Hideki added, scratching his cheek. "Like… we're not supposed to mess around here."
"You're not," Sora shot him a glance and replied flatly. "This is where missions are assigned, reports are made… important stuff."
Murakami didn't speak, his gaze shifting to the entrance where men and women, each moving in and out, some calm, some hurried, all purposeful.
'This is where decisions that control this village are made,' he thought quietly.
"…It's where things start," he said at last.
Sora glanced at him. "Start?"
Murakami realized he had let his thoughts slip out but didn't visibly react. After a brief pause, he gave a small nod. "Missions. Promotions. Failures too. Our entire lives as Shinobi begin here."
Hideki let out a low whistle. "When you say it like that, it sounds kinda heavy…"
"It is," Sora muttered.
A brief silence followed as the three of them stood there, each taking in the building in their own way.
Murakami returned to his previous train of thought, as the building that controls the military powerhouse of the Land of Fire, it should also be the most secure building in this Nation.
If there was a building he dreaded stepping into with every fiber of his being, it was this one.
Even though Murakami preferred to keep a low profile, stepping into that building would inevitably draw attention to him.
It wasn't something he could avoid forever, but he had no intention of being remembered as just another overly eager graduate who couldn't restrain himself and rushed straight to the Hokage Tower out of curiosity.
Just then Hideki suddenly straightened. "So… do we go in?"
Sora hesitated. "…Sensei didn't say we had to enter. Just to get familiar with the places."
Murakami took that as a cue and turned away first. "Then looking is enough for now."
He began walking off without waiting for their response.
Sora clicked his tongue but followed anyway. "You just don't want to deal with people already, do you?"
"…" Murakami totally ignored and didn't slow his pace.
"Hey, I'm talking to you," Sora added, still walking beside him.
"…You talk too much," Murakami replied flatly.
That finally made Hideki laugh under his breath, though he quickly tried to hide it when Sora shot him a glare.