The Sharingan quietly closed, and the two returned to the waking world. The full moon in the sky seemed to have sunk a little farther west.
Naori shifted her toes inside her wooden sandals. After wearing them for so long, her feet had gone a little numb. She looked at the boy beside her and asked softly, "Do you remember that evening after school?"
"Of course." Rikusei suppressed his surprise and nodded. How could he forget that afternoon when she'd backed him against the wall? "That miraculous way of awakening the Sharingan is still fresh in my memory."
Naori brushed the loose strands of hair beside her ear and gazed at her outstretched feet. "It really was miraculous."
Rikusei looked up at the faint clouds beside the moon. He understood now: Naori knew her clan's history well. After awakening her Sharingan, she must have looked through the records to see if anyone in the clan's history had awakened it the same way.
He quickly recalled what the clan records said. He knew there was no such account. The Uchiha Clan always needed some kind of stimulus to awaken the Sharingan.
That would inevitably make Naori wonder whether something about her was responsible for this unusual occurrence. If she looked closely, she would realize there was someone beside her who was even more unusual.
The first shinobi in the Uchiha Clan to awaken the Double Tomoe had always been closely connected to her.
Having pieced together roughly what had happened, Rikusei sighed. Never underestimate anyone.
"Thump!"
A tiny fist gently tapped Rikusei's shoulder. The girl pouted, pretending to be displeased. "You discovered my little secret, and now you're sighing?"
"..."
Feeling the touch on his shoulder, Rikusei opened his mouth, at a loss. This wasn't a little secret. If everyone in