Big Brother Madara~ I'm Afraid of the Dark

After going hungry for a whole day and night, Senju Chenghe finally got something to eat. He was so happy he could've cried.

He'd been exhausted on the battlefield before, but never had a day as nerve-racking and terrifying as this one. He regretted what had happened and still felt shaken by it. On top of that, he'd gone hungry for a whole day and night, relying on Military Ration Pills just to replenish his energy.

"Chenghe, slow down. You'll choke," Senju Kyogawa said, watching Senju Chenghe wolf down a steamed bun that had gone a little hard.

Senju Kyogawa was hungry too, but the buns were really hard, and they'd turned a little sour from sitting out so long. He'd only managed to eat one before he couldn't stomach any more.

Senju Chenghe held a bun in each hand, taking bites from them in turn. At Senju Kyogawa's warning, he hummed in agreement a few times but didn't slow down.

Sure enough, after only a few bites, Senju Chenghe choked. He struggled to swallow, but didn't put down the buns, clutching them as he thumped his chest.

Senju Kyogawa hurriedly held some water to his lips.

Senju Chenghe drank from Senju Kyogawa's hand and finally washed down the bun stuck in his throat.

After that, Senju Chenghe finally slowed down.

He ate three more buns before he was full, then drank a cup of water and turned to Madara, who was resting with his eyes closed nearby. He clasped his hands in thanks.

"Thanks for the buns, Madara!"

Madara opened his eyes and gave a cool nod.

Seeing Madara putting on his cool-guy act, Senju Kyogawa couldn't help laughing. They'd been together for a few hours now, and thanks to Senju Kyogawa's one-sided efforts to mooch Cuddle Points through relentless clinginess, he'd gotten pretty familiar with Madara. With his own tireless efforts at being a pest, he'd even managed to get under Madara's skin several times.

So now, whenever Senju Kyogawa saw Madara acting all cool and aloof, he couldn't help wanting to laugh.

Madara heard Senju Kyogawa laughing and turned to glare at him.

"Ahem!" The moment Senju Kyogawa saw Madara glare, he tried his best to suppress his smile and sat up straight.

But in the end, Senju Kyogawa couldn't hold back. He burst into laughter, clutching his stomach with one hand and pounding the table in front of him with the other.

Senju Chenghe hadn't seen Madara glare at Senju Kyogawa. He watched Senju Kyogawa laugh for no apparent reason, looking as baffled as an old man staring at a phone on the subway.

Senju Kyogawa finally stopped laughing after a while and said to Senju Chenghe:

"Chenghe, let me take a look at your injuries and treat them."

Once they'd rested, Senju Kyogawa recalled what the system had once told him: [That "wall monster" is actually just a "door" leading to another place.]

He thought for a moment. Since it's a "door," and I can smell a strong, strange fragrance around it, if I hadn't accidentally gotten caught in a space-time rift this time, could I have used the "door" to find out why "Evil Demons" appear?

Senju Kyogawa thought it was a very promising idea.

So he told Senju Chenghe and Madara what he had in mind.

"So you went straight up to that wall because you smelled the strange fragrance I couldn't smell?" Senju Chenghe said, suddenly understanding.

Madara gave Senju Kyogawa a strange look. He stared at him until Senju Kyogawa started to feel a chill all over, then said, "I can smell that strange fragrance too."

"Huh?" Senju Kyogawa and Senju Chenghe both wore the same puzzled expression.

When they returned to that house, they encountered a few monsters, but they were all low-level. The three of them quickly took care of them.

Senju Kyogawa headed straight for the room. As soon as he stepped inside, he and Madara were hit by the intense fragrance and couldn't help frowning.

This time, Senju Kyogawa had learned his lesson. Instead of putting his hand straight on the wall, he first asked Ugly Monster whether it connected to a space-time rift. After Ugly Monster said no, Senju Kyogawa reached out and touched the wall without hesitation.

Once again, Senju Kyogawa's hand left an imprint the size of his palm. He pushed his hand farther in and felt his fingers break through the "door" into another space.

Only after covering his arm in flames for protection did Senju Kyogawa push his whole arm through the wall. It went smoothly, without a hitch.

"Whoa! That's amazing!" Senju Chenghe exclaimed.

Next, Senju Kyogawa leaned his head through the wall. Once he'd passed through the "door," he saw what lay in the other space.

It was another room, mostly empty, but the fragrance there was far stronger and more pungent than on the other side of the "door."

After looking carefully and confirming there was no danger in the other space, Senju Kyogawa pulled his head back and turned to signal for Senju Chenghe and Madara to follow.

The three of them successfully passed through the "door" into the other room.

The intense fragrance made Madara cough twice, and his eyes grew red from the irritation.

Senju Kyogawa handed Madara a pair of nose plugs he'd exchanged for at the Cuddle Mall and gestured for him to put them on.

"There's a tunnel here!" Senju Chenghe, unaffected by the strange fragrance, searched the room first and found a hidden tunnel beneath a solid table.

Once they pushed the table aside, the tunnel was revealed in full—

It was huge.

There was enough room for all three of them to pass through.

"I'll scout ahead. I'm a sensory-type ninja, so I can detect danger sooner," Senju Chenghe suggested.

Neither Senju Kyogawa nor Madara objected.

As they started down into the tunnel, Senju Kyogawa suddenly reached out and grabbed Madara. When Madara gave him a questioning look, Senju Kyogawa put on a pitiful expression.

"Big Brother Madara, I'm afraid of the dark~"

Senju Kyogawa was already delicate and adorable, and he was still so young. With a pitiful expression like that, it was easy to win sympathy—especially since he had the same refined features as someone from the Uchiha Clan.

Whenever Madara saw Senju Kyogawa acting cute, he couldn't help picturing his younger brother Izuna. So he agreed without hesitation.

Senju Kyogawa knew Madara would agree. Feeling quite pleased with himself as the [Cuddle Points +7] notifications kept chiming, he took Madara's hand and led him down into the tunnel.