Halfway through the theory lesson, Iruka was explaining the seven chakra nature transformations: fire, wind, water, lightning, earth, yin, and yang. Kiyoshi took notes, but his mind was still tallying up that morning's haul.
What a haul. One more round and I could do a ten-pull. But thinking back, that was way too embarrassing. I nearly crawled into a crack in the ground.
Better stick to farming slowly, on a smaller scale.
He twirled his pen and looked out at the field. Sunlight beat down on the sandy ground, making it glare white.
A few classes were running laps for PE, their shadows so short they lay right beneath their feet.
He thought it would be nice if PE could earn him currency too. Even one point of awkwardness value per lap would do.
The bell rang.
Kiyoshi closed his textbook, planning to rest his head on his desk for a bit. That morning's run had tired him out; his body hadn't adjusted yet.
He had barely put his head down when he heard footsteps.
Not one person, but several.
He raised his head.
Three faces surrounded his desk.
Nakajima led the way. He was a size bigger than Kiyoshi, with a somewhat square jaw, and kept his chin raised when he looked at people. Two lackeys followed him, one tall and skinny, the other short and pudgy.
Nakajima planted a hand on his desk, making the pen wobble and roll a little.
"Hey, Uchiha."
Kiyoshi looked at him without speaking.
"I heard you make people call you Bro Hao?" Nakajima's voice was neither loud nor quiet, just enough for the nearby classmates to hear.
"Think you're hot stuff because you're an Uchiha?"
The classroom instantly fell silent.
Kiyoshi raised an eyebrow, speechless. So this was Konoha's Will of Bullying?
They even dared bully an Uchiha?
Out of the corner of his eye, Kiyoshi saw the nearby classmates watching them.
Sasuke sat by the window, looking over with a frown, but he didn't get up.
Naruto had already turned around, his body leaning slightly forward as though he was ready to spring to his feet.
Shikamaru leaned against his chair, glanced over, then looked away again.
Kiyoshi watched Nakajima for two seconds.
"Bro Hao is what my friends call me. You're not one of them, so what's it got to do with you?"
Naruto froze. Did Bro Hao want to be friends with me?
Ignoring Nakajima's reaction, Kiyoshi continued:
"We Uchiha love peace and never ask for special treatment. But you, my fellow student, seem to be trying to disrupt that peace. You're not a spy from some other country, are you?"
His tone was perfectly calm, as though he were commenting on the nice weather.
The classroom grew even quieter.
Nakajima froze for two seconds, then flushed red, from the base of his neck right up to the tips of his ears.
"You're the spy! Your whole family's full of spies!"
Smack-
Sasuke shot to his feet and glared fiercely at Nakajima. "Who are you calling spies?"
Seeing Sasuke, whom his family had warned him not to provoke, Nakajima swallowed and didn't dare say a word.
Someone nearby drew in a quiet breath.
Kiyoshi watched him without a change in expression.
"What are you doing?"
Iruka's voice came from the doorway.
To Nakajima, it sounded like heavenly music. He hurriedly said:
"Nothing, sir. I was just chatting with Kiyoshi."
Iruka glanced at him, then at Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi had already lowered his head and opened his textbook.
"Nakajima, back to your seat."
"Yes, sir!"
The panel vibrated faintly.
He glanced down at it.
[Face value +96]
He looked away. Talk-no-jutsu seemed pretty good too.
Naruto leaned over.
"Bro Hao, you were awesome just now!"
Kiyoshi glanced at him.
"Seriously, that look on your face, that tone-you have no idea! Nakajima's face turned green!" Naruto lowered his voice.
Kiyoshi looked at him. "Naruto, thanks."
Naruto paused, then scratched the back of his head. "Hehe, we're friends, aren't we?"
Kiyoshi paused. So that was how it was...
"Yeah, we're friends."
Naruto grinned, showing his two pointed canine teeth. "If he comes after you again, call me. I'll beat his ass."
Kiyoshi glanced at him and smiled.
As Naruto returned to his seat, Sasuke walked past and gave Kiyoshi a look.
He didn't stop or say anything.
But that look didn't seem like a casual glance.
Kiyoshi didn't respond and kept turning the pages.
Nakajima didn't come over again for the rest of the day's classes. Still, Kiyoshi occasionally felt a few gazes settle on him. They weren't Nakajima's, but other classmates'.
Someone was sneaking looks at him.
Kiyoshi didn't turn around.
After school, he ran into Sasuke in the hallway.
Sasuke walked a few steps ahead of him, his schoolbag on his back, his pace neither fast nor slow.
Kiyoshi followed, with a few meters between them.
When they reached the school gate, Sasuke stopped.
Kiyoshi stopped too.
Sasuke turned to look at him.
"Uh, no need to thank me. It was only because Nakajima called us Uchiha spies."
I haven't even thanked you yet, Kiyoshi thought. "Sasuke, you're a really nice guy."
"What are you talking about?"
Sasuke's face reddened slightly, and he turned and left.
Kiyoshi stood at the school gate, watching Sasuke disappear around the street corner, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Tsundere Sasuke before the massacre was pretty cute.
He looked away and headed home.
After a few steps, he thought of Sasuke's situation again and sighed.
I'll do what I can to stop the massacre. Even saving a few lives would be something.
Sasuke shouldn't have to endure all that suffering.
Itachi, you're a real piece of shit!
Time was tight now. There were less than two years until the massacre, and he hadn't even saved enough for a single ten-pull yet.
He quickened his pace.
When he got home, Misa hadn't finished cooking yet. The smell of miso soup drifted from the kitchen.
Kazuhiko sat in the living room with a cup of tea in front of him. It had already gone cold, but he hadn't drunk it. He just stared out the window, lost in thought.
"Dad, I'm home."
Kazuhiko came back to himself and glanced at him. "Mm."
Kiyoshi put down his schoolbag, walked to the kitchen doorway, and glanced at the vegetables on the cutting board.
"Mom, I bought a head of napa cabbage and left it by the flower bed outside the door. I forgot to bring it in."
Misa turned, looking a little surprised. "You bought it?"
"Yeah, I picked it up when I passed the market this morning."
Misa glanced at him and smiled. "All right. I'll have your dad get it in a minute."
Kiyoshi returned to his room, sat on the edge of the bed, and opened the system panel.
Awkwardness value: 1048. Face value: 596.
Enough for a ten-pull. My luck doesn't feel great today, though. If I remember right, tomorrow's my lucky day.
He closed the panel, lay down, and stared at the ceiling.
A lot had happened today.
He had run through the shopping street that morning, verbally smacked down Nakajima between classes, officially become friends with Naruto, and even struck up a conversation with Sasuke.
He had been in this world for less than a week, yet his days already felt fuller than they had in his previous life.
He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.
A low chuckle, muffled by the pillow, sounded as though it had been squeezed from deep in his throat.
"You're not a spy, are you?"
I'm getting better at slapping labels on people.
Didn't feel bad, though.
He laughed for a while, then stopped, rolled onto his back, and stared at the cracks in the ceiling.
He closed his eyes, and Nakajima's flushed face surfaced in his mind.
Nakajima wouldn't let this go so easily.
He rolled over and rested his wrist against the pillow. The metal felt cool against his skin.
I'm kind of looking forward to tomorrow~
Before you continue