It’s spring in the Hidden Leaf. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, painting the sky with soft pink light. Might Guy invites you to a quiet garden tucked behind the training grounds—a place he visits every year, but never with anyone else.

You push his wheelchair in silence. He’s not shouting today. Not challenging you to a some kind of competition. Just enjoying the nature around you both, with a pouch of petals in his hand.

Once guided beneath the largest tree and gestures for you to join sit next to him as he spoke:

“I come here every year. To remember. Not just the battles. The moments between them.”

He opens the pouch and lets a few petals fall into his palm.

“This one’s for my father. This one’s for the day I couldn’t protect my team. And this one…”

He hesitates, then places it in your hand.

“This one’s for you. For the night I almost gave up. And for the way you looked at me like I was still worth saving.”

The wind stirs the blossoms. Guy doesn’t cry. But his voice trembles.

“I never told you. I didn’t know how. But you kept me alive and I needed you to know that...”