Boy, You Have Successfully Caught My Attention

Tsunade pouted, her soft pink lips somewhat alluring.

At the same time, she had a candy Chishima Chiba had forcibly stuffed into her mouth, muttering under her breath without stop.

Only that dice cup...

It had cracked all over, warped beyond recognition, and been tossed aside, ignored by everyone. The three dice had suffered the same fate, having long since turned to powder and mingled with the soil.

Chishima Chiba cheerfully followed behind Tsunade, with a candy in his mouth as well. However, he did not mention how Tsunade had lost her entire "treasury," silently counting out six bills from a stack...

Forget it, give her one more. She looked so pitiful.

"Here. Principal and interest included—we're even now."

As he held the seven bills out to her, Tsunade turned around, intending to pull a face at him. But when she saw the money, her Bright Brown eyes lit up again.

She snatched the bills Chishima Chiba offered her, the corners of her lips curving upward slightly. Clearly, she had emerged from the dark cloud of "bankruptcy."

The next second, Tsunade stopped walking. Chishima Chiba, following behind her, nearly bumped into her and looked puzzled.

"What is it, Tsunade? Is the amount wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just want to gamble with you one more time!"

"But the dice cup and dice are already..."

"We can guess coins!" Tsunade was quite quick-witted. Her Bright Brown eyes blinked. "I'll flip the coin, and you guess."

"Is that really a good idea?"

Chishima Chiba spoke words of refusal, but the expression on his face betrayed him.

As expected of the legendary fat sheep, Tsunade had not only let Chishima Chiba make a profit without any capital, but she still had quite a bit left after repaying her debt.

"What's bad about it?" Tsunade planted one hand on her hip, looking rather domineering. "Are you worried I'll cheat?"

Was this even about whether she would cheat? She was about to go bankrupt again!

"Of course not. I trust your gambling integrity." Chishima Chiba hurriedly shook his head. "Then I'll guess heads. All in!"

"Agreed, then. No backing out." Tsunade's Fighting Spirit returned, her eyes shining frighteningly bright.

Chishima Chiba stood quietly where he was, watching Tsunade flick a coin into the air with one finger, then catch it steadily against the back of her hand three seconds later.

With great ceremony, Tsunade slowly moved away the right hand covering the coin. She cautiously tilted her head to peek inside, her Little Face flushed red.

But the next second, Tsunade's Little Face froze, and her expression immediately collapsed.

"No, just now I clearly..."

The words stopped at her lips. Tsunade secretly glanced at Chishima Chiba, who appeared utterly unconcerned, and gradually relaxed.

"This round doesn't count!"

"Mm, it doesn't count." Chishima Chiba smiled gently and indulgently. "The wind's a little strong. It affected your performance. Let's try again."

"Mm-hm!"

Tsunade nodded seriously, a smile blooming on her face once more and leaving Chishima Chiba stunned for a moment.

"This time, wait until I'm ready before guessing. No peeking."

"I won't."

Three seconds later, Tsunade moved close to Chishima Chiba, nearly against his chest. "Do you guess heads or tails? And how much are we betting?"

"Heads, all in!"

"What the heck!!!"

Tsunade's Little Face first went pale, then flushed crimson from holding it in. She violently hurled the coin far away.

Rather unwillingly, she stuffed the seven bills she had just received into Chishima Chiba's hands, pouted again, and slowly headed toward the classroom.

Bankrupt again...

Chishima Chiba was even happier. Step by step, he followed Tsunade back to their seats.

Ignoring the noise made by the surrounding Half-grown Children, Tsunade, still fuming, thoroughly crumpled up that book, "A Thousand Ways to Win Every Bet."

She was still that Tsunade with violent tendencies, but the more he looked at her, the more he liked her.

Of course, Chishima Chiba did not want to become that book, much less have Tsunade ravage him in that manner.

He merely watched quietly when Tsunade, who had been venting her anger, suddenly stopped and turned to glare fiercely at Chishima Chiba.

"What are you looking at? You made me lose so much... Are you gloating?!"

"No. I was just thinking of a more interesting bet."

Chishima Chiba's voice was calm and clear as he slowly laid a trap for Tsunade. "For example, I bet that you'll be unhappy today."

"How could that be!" Tsunade shook her head wildly and forced a curve of a smile onto her face. "I'm very happy, so you lost!"

"But the day isn't over yet, so..."

"But to complete the bet, you can't possibly follow me around all day, can you?" Tsunade also noticed the problem and frowned slightly.

"There's no need to make it that troublesome. The bet ends after sunset, and then we'll decide who won."

"What's the stake?" Tsunade became interested, completely forgetting her earlier unhappiness.

"Betting money is too vulgar, really too vulgar. How about we..."

"Betting money is good! Betting money isn't vulgar at all! Really, not at all!"

Tsunade interrupted Chishima Chiba, her Little Face flushed with excited redness. "Then we'll..."

"Tsunade, but the problem is that you don't have any money on you right now!" Chishima Chiba spread his hands and kindly reminded her.

Tsunade froze in place, the excited flush on her face having nowhere to go. Her body swayed before her shoulders drooped in disappointment.

But the next second, an inexplicable fury rose in Tsunade's heart. She abruptly stood and glared at Chishima Chiba.

Wasn't it all because of you!!!

Tsunade roared inwardly, clenching her small fists as she prepared to teach Chishima Chiba a lesson.

"Our... bet." Chishima Chiba reminded her softly.

Pfft~

Tsunade went limp like a deflated ball. She opened her mouth to speak, only for Chishima Chiba to swiftly stuff another candy into it.

"You need to be happy if you want to win."

Chishima Chiba reminded her, then explained his stake. "If you win, I'll treat you to a meal. That counts as you winning money."

"If you lose, then you treat me to a meal. That counts as me winning money, and you won't have lost too badly either."

Was that really how the math worked?

Tsunade was a little confused. She only felt that something was off, but she could not say exactly what.

After thinking for a moment, Tsunade nodded. "All right, I agree to this bet and these stakes. Let's high-five..."

"No high-five. That's too cliché."

Chishima Chiba shook his head and leaned close to whisper to Tsunade, "We can pinky swear."

After saying that, Chishima Chiba blushed, silently berating himself over and over.

What a sin!

"Pinky swear... I've never heard of that."

"Come on, I'll teach you."

Chishima Chiba took Tsunade's right hand and held out his own right hand as well. Their little fingers hooked together and tugged, then their thumbs pressed together.

"There, that's a pinky swear. And now our contract has been made. Neither of us is allowed to go back on it."

Chishima Chiba's expression turned mysterious. "And this is our secret. We can't tell anyone, or else..."

"You're so childish... Chiba!"

Tsunade's Little Face reddened. No matter how slow she was, she had figured out what Chishima Chiba was trying to do.

But Chishima Chiba's actions were reasonable and did not cross any lines, so Tsunade could only dismiss it as childishness, unaware that it was all part of his scheme.

"You're wrong, Tsunade. This isn't childishness. It's a secret between good friends."

Chishima Chiba's expression grew serious. It was as though he had changed completely from the inside out, becoming remarkably steady and mature.

That alone left Tsunade confused again.

Sometimes lazy, sometimes childish, and sometimes steady and mature—how did Chishima Chiba switch between them so naturally?

What had he been through?

With curiosity in her eyes, Tsunade found herself, for the first time, interested in a boy she had only known for half a day.