Gua's lunchbox, Izumi's lunchbox

After staying home and reading Icha Icha Paradise all day, Gua finally finished Jiraiya's masterpiece.

The prose was good, the writing excellent, thrilling and well-paced, with the occasional alluring but not quite explicit illustration.

It was clear that Jiraiya had put a lot of care into this book.

Who said this was porn? This was clearly Master Jiraiya's philosophy of life!

Itachi had come by to see him once, but Gua had refused to go out.

He wanted to stay home and idle.

Itachi couldn't really object. After all, the recent Shinobi disappearances had caused quite a stir, and going outside at a time like this really was a little unsafe.

So Itachi had gone home too, to train alone.

Another day passed.

Gua had been idling his Great Fireball Technique for nearly two days.

And just like that, the weekend was over. Gua got up early on Monday morning. According to what his father Dashan had told him, winning a girl over required breakfast, at the very least.

So he planned to buy some on the way to school.

"Gua! You're up so early today!"

His mother, Nai, smiled at him. He was up earlier than usual.

"Yeah. Didn't Dad say that if I wanted to win a girl over, I'd need breakfast at the very least?"

Gua said.

His mother, Nai, smiled. "I've already prepared it, Gua."

Gua, who had been about to leave, froze for a moment.

He hadn't expected his mother to remember what he'd said two days ago. He'd thought she would forget such a trivial matter almost immediately.

While Gua was still lost in thought, his mother had already pressed a lunchbox into his hands.

"Gua! Good luck!"

His mother, Nai, clenched her fist to cheer him on.

Gua: "..."

How was I supposed to tell her I wasn't going to flirt with a girl, but to apologize?

Gua wasn't good at explaining himself.

Besides, he felt there was no need to explain something like this so thoroughly to his mother. It wasn't doing any harm.

Lunchbox in hand, Gua left the house.

Generally speaking, most Ninja Academy students went to school without eating breakfast.

Some ate a few simple dango instead. Izumi, for instance, often had a skewer of Three-Color Dango for breakfast.

So a lavish breakfast was quite a luxury for a Ninja Academy student.

Since Gua had gotten up a little early today, hardly anyone was around when he reached school.

Naturally, the classroom was much the same.

Gua walked to the front row and placed the lunchbox at Gua's seat.

Then he returned to his own seat and began idling.

That should make him and Izumi even. She would probably forgive him now, though Gua didn't even know what he'd done to offend her.

As Gua idled, time ticked by.

Students began arriving in the classroom one after another.

The classroom gradually grew lively.

"Gua!"

Someone called Gua out of his idle state.

Gua looked up at the girl standing in the aisle.

It was Izumi.

"You came at a different time than usual today."

Izumi didn't seem particularly happy, but she still came to stand in front of him. Gua didn't know why, but she seemed rather awkward.

"Oh, I had something to do today, so I got up early."

Gua said.

He really wasn't lying. He really had something to do, and he really had gotten up early.

But he missed the meaning behind Izumi's words. Her remark about him arriving at a different time actually meant that she had long since figured out his routine.

That was why the Three-Color Dango appeared at the school gates right on time every day.

But today, Gua hadn't appeared at the school gates at his usual time. Izumi had waited there a while, but still hadn't seen him.

Only then had Izumi walked into school with two skewers of Three-Color Dango, looking a little dejected.

Then, upon reaching the classroom, she had spotted Gua sitting at his desk immediately.

That was why Izumi had hurried over to ask him.

But since she and Gua had had a falling-out on Friday, she felt a little unnatural talking to him now.

And in Gua's eyes, all of that naturally came across as awkwardness.

"Something to do?"

Izumi pursed her lips. "What could you possibly have to do? Were you trying to avoid me?"

Izumi's voice was as quiet as a mosquito's hum. Even she couldn't hear it herself.

Perhaps it could only be considered an unspoken thought.

"What did you say?"

Gua looked at Izumi blankly.

Izumi smoothed away her dejected expression and held out a skewer of Three-Color Dango to Gua.

"Here!"

Gua froze.

Wait.

Come on, you're not angry anymore?

Did I get it wrong that day?

Gua didn't dare take it. He was afraid Izumi had poisoned it.

After hesitating for a moment, Gua finally asked uncertainly, "This dango... is it safe?"

Izumi: "?"

Izumi had already worked up a great deal of courage to approach Gua. Now, hearing his words, she completely lost it and stuffed all the Three-Color Dango into her mouth in one go.

With her cheeks bulging, Izumi shot Gua a fierce glare, stabbed the bamboo skewer into his desk, and turned to leave.

Smack!

Gua watched the bamboo skewer quivering in his desk, making him instinctively lean back.

What was that supposed to mean?

Gua didn't understand.

Just then, Itachi arrived. When he reached Gua's side, he saw the bamboo skewer sticking out of Gua's desk.

Itachi paused.

"Gua, don't stick used skewers into your desk."

Gua: "?"

Gua turned to glance at Itachi.

Should I stick it up your ass instead?

Noticing something off about Gua's gaze, and that Gua didn't seem very happy today, Itachi fell silent. He walked around Gua and sat in his own seat.

Gua's mood was a little sour.

But that didn't interfere with his idling.

He casually checked his panel.

[Taijutsu (tenfold boost active)]

[Eyesight (tenfold boost active)]

[Great Fireball Technique (tenfold boost active)]

He'd been idling for two days and still hadn't tested the Great Fireball Technique. He could find a chance to try it after school today.

Meanwhile.

When Izumi returned to her seat in a huff, she discovered a lunchbox placed neatly on her desk, bearing the familiar Uchiha clan crest.

Inside the lunchbox was a breakfast that still retained a little warmth.

Izumi froze in the middle of angrily chewing her mouthful of Three-Color Dango. She stepped up to her seat and swallowed the dango in her mouth with difficulty.

Izumi gently placed the lunchbox in front of her.

She opened it.

The aroma of beef rolls wafted into her nose along with the steam.

Izumi's eyes grew slightly moist.

Her parents had died on the night of the Nine-Tails' Attack. Since then, hardly anyone had packed her a lunchbox.

And now, this lunchbox even bore the Uchiha clan crest.

That made Izumi's tears spill over in an instant.

She slumped over her desk and buried her face, her shoulders trembling slightly as steam rose from the lunchbox on the desk.