On a quiet riverside path, Sasuke wandered aimlessly toward home.
Suddenly.
Several gusts of wind swept onto the path ahead, blocking his way.
Looking at the annoying boys from his class, Sasuke's gaze grew colder.
"Hey, Sasuke, want me to walk you home?"
Compared with the first boy, the second was a little more flirtatious.
"Big Sis, where might you be coming from, and where might you be headed?"
"Hey, girl, let's cut to the chase. I like you. Be my girlfriend?"
It had to be said.
These three small fry had acted on nothing more than a guess. They really were reckless gamblers.
Sasuke was feeling low, unable to tell whether he was hurt or simply sad.
He looked up and swept his gaze over the three, brows knitted. Apart from Naruto, he now found it especially repulsive when other boys looked him up and down with such brazen eyes.
"Get lost."
Sasuke's cold voice was like frost.
"Oh, that won't do. We have to walk you home today."
"Hmph!"
At those words, Sasuke could no longer suppress his anger. He pushed off with his toes, his body moving in a blur as he darted back and forth among the three small fry.
Punch after punch landed on their faces, beating all three into grotesque caricatures.
"Aah... aaah! We were wrong!"
"Stop hitting us, Sasuke! We won't do it again!"
The three unlucky boys were bruised and swollen, sprawled all over the ground as they hurriedly begged for mercy.
Sasuke wasted no words. After dealing with them, he continued calmly down the path, eyes forward.
As though remembering something, he stopped. "Tell Iruka-sensei I'm taking the afternoon off."
"Yes! We'll make sure he gets the message!"
"And if there's a next time, I'll throw you into the river to