A Warning

The voice carried from one end of the hallway to the other, and some students even poked their heads out of their classrooms to look.

Kiyoshi walked past Iruka in silence, his face expressionless.

His third outfit? So the bucket incident this morning was the first, and he changed again at noon? Looks like Iruka-sensei was changing clothes faster than usual today.

He thought it over. This was another good chance to farm currency. Iruka-sensei was changing clothes today faster than he could do his job as a teacher.

[System notification: awkwardness value +15. You witnessed your teacher get pranked three times and walked past with a blank face every time. The system has recorded this "I saw it, but I'm not saying anything" awkwardness.]

[System notification: face value +10. You neither took part in the pranks nor informed on anyone, maintaining a neutral stance. Iruka noticed that you warned him, though he did not say so.]

Kiyoshi kept walking.

When he reached the end of the hallway, Naruto had already been caught by Iruka around the corner. Iruka held Naruto by the collar with one hand and the row of nails with the other, his face livid.

"Do you realize nails can hurt people? What if someone stepped on them and fell?"

Naruto hunched his shoulders. "I... I just wanted to see..."

"See what?"

"If Kiyoshi would step on them..."

Iruka: "..."

He glanced at Kiyoshi, who stood a short distance away with an expressionless face, then at the row of nails in his hand. He fell silent for quite a while.

"...You set up a trap specifically to test whether he'd step on it?"

"Yeah!"

Iruka took a deep breath. "...Do you realize that one bucket was already enough for me to deal with?"

"I do."

"And you scattered nails anyway?"

"I just wanted to try..."

Looking at him like that, Iruka could neither bring himself to scold him nor let it slide. Finally, he sighed, put the nails in his pocket, and said, "Stay after school and clean the classroom. I'll deal with you again tomorrow."

Naruto muttered, "Okay," and walked away with his head down.

Kiyoshi continued on his way, his face expressionless. He glanced down at his fingers. He had gotten a little dust on them when he touched the nails earlier, so he wiped them on his pants.

Naruto behaved much better during the afternoon lessons. He had probably been scared straight by the scolding at noon.

After school, Kiyoshi packed his bag and slowly headed outside. When he reached the school gate, he saw Naruto.

Naruto was crouching at the foot of the wall across from the gate, his head lowered. He had not left.

Kiyoshi walked over, crouched down, and looked at him.

"What are you doing here?"

Naruto looked up, saw him, and froze for a moment. "I... I'm waiting for you."

"For me?"

"Yeah... You warned Iruka-sensei today."

"Yeah."

"Why... why didn't you just tell him I put them there?"

Kiyoshi thought for a moment. "He knew you put them there. I didn't need to tell him."

"But you warned him about the nails."

"I didn't want him stepping on them."

Naruto looked at him, a spark lighting up his eyes. "Were you... were you helping me?"

Kiyoshi remained expressionless. "No. I just didn't want him stepping on them." It wouldn't matter who put them there. He left that last part unsaid.

"Oh."

Naruto lowered his head and said nothing more. But the corners of his mouth seemed to lift a little.

Kiyoshi stood up. "Let's go."

"Where?"

"Back. You still have to clean the classroom."

Naruto: "...Can you stop bringing that up?"

Kiyoshi said nothing and turned to leave. Naruto stood and followed him for a while, then jogged a couple of steps to walk beside him.

The two walked down the street in the evening, the setting sun stretching their shadows long.

They had not gone far when Kiyoshi noticed an old woman by the roadside watching Naruto. Her eyes held something he recognized: wariness, disgust, and a little fear.

The old woman said nothing, but her gaze said it all.

Naruto sensed it. He lowered his head, slowed a little, and shrank back behind Kiyoshi.

Kiyoshi kept walking, his face expressionless.

He took one step, then two, then stopped.

He turned and looked at the old woman. Without a word or a change in expression, he simply stood there watching her.

The old woman grew a little uncomfortable under his stare and looked away.

Kiyoshi still did not move.

He stood there for about five seconds, then turned and continued walking.

Naruto followed behind him and asked quietly, "What... what were you doing just now?"

"Nothing."

"Why were you looking at her?"

"Admiring the scenery."

Naruto fell silent. He knew Kiyoshi had not been admiring the scenery, but he did not ask again.

After they walked a little farther, Kiyoshi stopped at a roadside stall and bought two skewers of dango, handing one to Naruto.

Naruto took it, momentarily stunned. "You're... you're treating me?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because you got scolded three times today. Also, I wanted dango."

Naruto: "...Can you stop bringing that up?"

Kiyoshi took a bite of dango and chewed, his face expressionless. "Not bad."

Naruto looked at the dango in his hand and took a bite. Sweetness melted in his mouth. As he chewed, the corners of his mouth lifted.

"Kiyoshi, next time I design a trap, I'll definitely tell you where it is first!"

Kiyoshi stopped chewing and looked at him.

"...No need."

"Why? Don't you want to know?"

"I don't want to be an accomplice."

Naruto laughed. "But you already are! When you climbed through the window this morning, I knew you'd go around it!"

Kiyoshi fell silent.

Did this count as currency farming gone wrong?

[System notification: awkwardness value +8. Your friend exposed that "you knew all along but pretended not to." The system has recorded this awkwardness of being seen through.]

[System notification: face value +5. Naruto's trust in you has deepened. He now considers you a true friend.]

Kiyoshi took another bite of dango.

Whatever. As long as I got the currency.

The two stood by the roadside, each holding a skewer of dango. The setting sun shone on them, casting long shadows across the ground.

Naruto chewed his dango and mumbled, "Kiyoshi."

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow... can we walk home together tomorrow too?"

Kiyoshi finished chewing his last bite and tossed the bamboo skewer into a roadside trash can, his face expressionless. "Depends."

"On what?"

"On whether you set any traps tomorrow."

Naruto: "...Can you forget about the traps?"

"No."

Naruto chased after him and took a swat at him. Kiyoshi dodged without changing his expression. The two walked off down the street, the setting sun stretching their shadows even longer.

When they reached an intersection, Naruto turned left, waved, and ran off.

Kiyoshi stood where he was and watched Naruto run into the distance, then turned and headed the other way.

After a few steps, he stopped.

Shisui leaned against a wall by the roadside, his arms folded and a faint smile on his lips.

"You've been spending a lot of time with that blond kid lately."

Kiyoshi remained expressionless. "Yeah."

Shisui walked over and patted his shoulder. His voice was quiet, but his tone grew a little more serious. "I'm not trying to tell you who to be friends with. But you need to know that certain people will notice you."

Kiyoshi looked at him. "What people?"

Shisui smiled without answering directly. "You know."

Kiyoshi fell silent.

Shisui patted his shoulder again, his tone returning to its usual lightness. "Be careful. Come find me if anything happens."

With that, he vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.

Kiyoshi stood there for two seconds, then continued walking.