Zhen Shu did not stir up any more trouble in class.
That made Kiyo uneasy instead. At lunch, he bit a crooked notch into his rice ball and glanced several times at the group in the distance before finally blurting out, "He's being way too normal today."
Morita Yu set down his chopsticks. "What's wrong with normal?"
"It's not that." Kiyo lowered his voice. "When he acts normal, I feel like he's preparing to act abnormal."
Che nearly choked on his soup. Kiyo's words sounded muddled, but there was some truth in them. Zhen Shu had been too hasty the last few times, eager to use clan names, teachers' evaluations, and victories outside class to open doors. After yesterday's paper slip lesson, he had not come after Keisuke, nor had he said anything about that curled-edged sheet of paper. When someone who looked for doors suddenly stopped knocking, he was probably changing tactics.
The answer came beside the training ground that afternoon.
It was not delivered by Zhen Shu himself.
As an Uchiha child named Hayama was switching wooden swords, he deliberately took Keisuke's. The movement was small, like he had grabbed the wrong one by habit. By the time Keisuke noticed, Hayama was already standing on the other side talking to someone. Zhen Shu sat atop a low wall, one leg swinging, his gaze nowhere near them, as though he had nothing to do with it.
Kiyo immediately started to speak. "Hey, that's—"
Che lightly touched him with the back of his hand.
Kiyo forcibly stopped, his face scrunched up in discomfort. Morita Yu looked at Hayama, then at Zhen Shu, his expression unchanged. "Borrowing a shadow."
Che nodded.
This was not about stealing a wooden sword. That would be too obvious, and the teacher would intervene. Children their