Naruto Uzumaki carried a bag containing a serving of ramen still steaming hot. Aside from the noodles themselves, the absurdly generous pile of toppings proved the kid's sincerity. "The stuff you gave me is really troublesome to use. Just finding things that counted as 'valuable' took me days. Otherwise, I would've come way sooner. Oh, right, right—I got assigned to a class too. Our team leader's this lazy, always-late, pervy masked guy who likes reading H-books, but he's pretty strong, I guess..."
"And not just that—there's someone I really hate in my class, but I... um, well, the girl I really like is in the same class too." Naruto said awkwardly.
"...You've got promise. Work hard." Jiu Ming patted him on the shoulder and casually took the ramen from his hands. Only twelve years old—being young really was nice.
"Yeah, yeah! Big Brother Jiu Ming seems even more amazing." Stars sparkled in Naruto's eyes as he glanced over Haruhi and the black-haired girl. "It hasn't even been that long, and you've already got more new big sisters."
Should he praise the kid for knowing how to talk?
"Ahaha, don't say weird things. Anyway, I got your gift—sincerity overflowing. Want to eat together?" Jiu Ming asked with a smile.
Naruto hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. "No, no, no, I already ate. Yeah! Big Brother Jiu Ming, I still have to gather up, so I'll be going!"
"Wait." Jiu Ming stopped Naruto, who had made the difficult decision to leave without eating the ramen. He took out several High-Energy Crystals, stuffed them into a bag, and tossed it to Naruto. "Use these if you want to come next time. Just remember not to forget the good stuff. I just got my hands on a batch of good goods here,