Kapitel 42: Annoyed

In the hallway outside the classroom.

Nawaki, his eyes glued to the bag of chips Chōza held as if it were the Holy Grail.

"Chōza, my friend, my fellow adventurer, since you gave some to Chen, would you spare a few chips for me? I'm starving," Nawaki pleaded, his stomach growling audibly.

Chōza eyed his precious bag of chips and then Nawaki, his face a mix of conflict. "Sorry, Nawaki. Chen got some because he invited me to eat, not like you, you cheapskate."

"But my sister took all my allowance!" Nawaki exclaimed. "I saved up for a whole year to buy that gaming console Chen is using! A year of sacrifices, of saying no to sweets, of walking past the toy store with my eyes shut!"

Chen, without looking up from his console, let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Oh, poor Nawaki. Maybe you should consider a career in acting. That monologue was touching."

Chōza, moved by Nawaki's performance (or perhaps just wanting him to shut up), sighed deeply. "Alright, alright. Here, take a bag." He tossed a bag of chips at Nawaki, who caught it as if it were an invaluable treasure.

Nawaki clutched the bag to his chest, his eyes shining with excitement. Slowly, he opened the bag and brought a chip to his nose, inhaling deeply.

"Ah, the scent of friendship," Nawaki sighed, his face a mask of exaggerated ecstasy.

Chen, unable to contain his annoyance, stretched out a leg and kicked Nawaki. "For heaven's sake, they're just chips. Don't act like you just discovered the cure for all the world's diseases."

Just then, the classroom door opened and Shikaku appeared, sporting a bandage over his eyes that had eyes drawn on them. He yawned lazily, scratching the back of his neck.

"You too, Shikaku?" Chen asked, raising an eyebrow. "Let me guess, did Professor Kuri finally catch you sleeping?"

Shikaku nodded slowly, too lazy to speak. He quickly approached Chōza and, without a word, grabbed a bag of snacks from his arms.

"Hey!" Chōza protested, but it was too late. Shikaku was already happily munching away, his eyes closed in an expression of pure satisfaction.

"You know, Nawaki," said Chen, returning his attention to the game, "if you keep this up, maybe one day you'll be rich enough to buy your own chip factory."

Nawaki, with his mouth full, tried to respond, but only managed to spit out a bunch of crumbs.

…

The bell rang through the halls of the Academy, marking the end of another long day of classes.

Kuri, with a sigh of relief, gathered his things and headed for the classroom door. However, his momentary peace evaporated instantly when, upon opening the door, he was greeted with a scene that made a vein visibly throb on his forehead.

There, in the hallway, were four of his most troublesome students, completely oblivious to his presence and to the fact that they were supposed to be reflecting on their bad behavior.

Chen, the self-proclaimed class monster, was sitting on the floor, his fingers flying over the buttons of a video game console with a concentration he rarely showed in class. Beside him, Nawaki was practically drooling over Chen's shoulder, his eyes stuck to the screen as he occasionally shouted, "No, no, left! Watch out for that ninja!"

Chōza, the perpetually hungry, sat on the other side of Chen, loudly munching on a bag of chips. With each crunch, little crumbs fell onto the console, to Chen's dismay, who occasionally blew on it to clean it without taking his eyes off the game.

And then there was Shikaku, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and a trickle of drool running down the corner of his mouth. The soft snoring he emitted was proof that he had managed to fall asleep standing up, an impressive feat.

"You four..." Kuri began, his voice shaking with contained anger. But seeing that none of the boys even flinched at his presence, he simply shook his head and walked away, muttering something about "troublesome kids" and "early retirement."

Chen, however, had noticed the teacher's presence. With a side smile, he commented without taking his eyes off the game, "Looks like Professor Kuri is in a bad mood again. When isn't he?"

Nawaki chuckled nervously, casting a worried glance towards where the teacher had disappeared. "Maybe we should head back to the classroom..."

But Chen abruptly changed the subject. "Hey, Nawaki, is it true that those new redhead girls are living in the Senju clan's residence?"

Nawaki blinked, surprised. "How do you know that? Yes, it's true. They're staying with my grandma. But I only found out a few days ago, I don't really know them well."

Chen smirked knowingly. "The Uzumaki and Senju clans are distant relatives, you know? I have my sources." With a flick, he tossed the console to Nawaki, who caught it clumsily. "Well, we'd better get back before Kuri decides to really punish us."

As Chen headed for the classroom, the other three exchanged glances, confused by Chen's sudden change of attitude.

Entering the classroom, Chen headed straight for his seat, deliberately ignoring the curious glances.

Kushina, sitting at her desk, snorted with pride as she saw him, but her triumphant expression mixed with evident discomfort as Chen passed by her without even looking.

Kushina's heart pounded as she watched this. However, her pride would not allow her to openly show it.

"Hey, you!" Kushina exclaimed, unable to bear being ignored. With a quick movement, she pushed Chen. "You bumped into me earlier, dattebane!" she complained, her eyes filling with tears as she dramatically touched her head.

Chen looked at her amusedly. "Come on, I can't get mad at a girl," he said in a teasing tone that made Kushina's cheeks burn.

"I'm not a girl!" Kushina protested, puffing out her chest. "I'm a full-grown woman, dattebane"

Hearing this, Chen glanced down at Kushina's flat chest, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

Kushina, realizing where he was looking, covered her chest with her arms, her face now completely red.

"P-pervert!" she stammered, her voice shaking with embarrassment.

Chen chuckled. "Pervert? There's nothing to see there, Kushina. We'll talk about this when you grow up, okay?"

Chen's words were like pouring gasoline on a fire. Kushina's cheeks puffed up, her face turning an even more intense shade of red. "You're a...!"

"Tomato," Chen interrupted, laughing. "You really do look like a tomato when you get angry."

Something in Kushina seemed to break. With a cry of rage, she lunged at Chen, grabbing his arm and biting down with all her might.

To Kushina's surprise, Chen did not scream or complain. Instead, he laughed, relaxing the muscle where she bit him. "Wow, wow, who's the pervert now?"

Kushina, confused, released Chen's arm. To her astonishment, she had left no mark. Not even a scratch. "How...?" she murmured, her eyes wide.

Chen winked at her, a gesture that made Kushina's heart skip a beat. "You'll have to try harder than that if you want to impress me, tomato-chan."

Kushina stood there, open-mouthed.

Just then, Nawaki entered the classroom, his gaze immediately falling on the scene before him: Kushina holding Chen's arm, both looking at each other with an intensity that made him raise an eyebrow.

"Well, well," Nawaki exclaimed, his voice laden with sarcasm. "Look at Chen, the scum of the classroom. Did you snag another girl? So soon after Mikoto missed a day?"

Nawaki's words resonated in the classroom, drawing the attention of everyone present.

The boys looked at Chen with a mix of contempt and poorly disguised envy, while the girls cast venomous glances in Kushina's direction.

Chen, for his part, simply shrugged. He knew that any explanation he gave would only complicate things further. Besides, a part of him didn't mind at all being associated with Kushina.

Kushina, on the other hand, jumped up, her face as red as her hair. "Dwarf, d-don't talk nonsense, dattebane!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling slightly. "It's not what it looks like!"

But before she could say more, one of her classmates took the opportunity to throw another hurtful comment.

"Look at the talking tomato!" he mocked. "With that red hair and round face, you look like a ripe tomato. Compared to Mikoto, you're like a salad without dressing."

The words hit Kushina like a punch in the stomach.

She felt her eyes filling with tears, and though she fought with all her might to hold them back, some escaped, rolling down her blushed cheeks.

Suddenly, the temperature in the classroom seemed to drop several degrees. Chen put on a mask of calm that, somehow, was more terrifying than any expression of anger.

"That's enough," he said, his voice deep. He did not shout or threaten, but something in his tone silenced everyone, including Nawaki, who returned to his seat quietly.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Chen leaned in towards Kushina, bringing his lips close to her ear. Kushina shivered, feeling Chen's warm breath against her skin.

"Don't listen to them," he murmured, his voice soft but firm. "Your hair isn't ugly at all. It's like fire, alive and beautiful. And your round face is adorable. Look at yourself, Kushina. Besides Mikoto, there's no girl in the whole school who's as beautiful and cute as you."

Kushina held her breath, her heart pounding so loud she feared the entire class might hear it. "Do you really mean that?" she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Chen pulled back slightly, looking her in the eyes with an intensity that made Kushina blush even more. "Absolutely," he affirmed. "Even Tomo, who came with you, isn't as pretty and cute as you."

Something warm blossomed in Kushina's chest, a feeling she had never experienced before. She nodded slightly, a small smile forming on her lips. "Thank you, Chen," she murmured. Then, as if remembering something important, she added, "I'll hit you after school, dattebane."

Chen blinked, completely baffled by this turn in the conversation. "What...? Are you still thinking about hitting me?"

________

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