"Hey, what's your brother like?"
After school, Naruto, lying next to Sasuke with a swollen face like a pig's head, muttered to himself.
Sasuke was in slightly better shape, though his face also bore some bruises.
"He's... a pretty decent guy..."
Even though Kaito often bullied him, smashed his piggy bank, and occasionally mocked or teased him...
There was no denying it...
That guy was actually pretty good to him in many ways.
Sasuke answered instinctively, his thoughts swirling. Just as he was about to say more, he suddenly realized the person next to him was that annoying blond. He immediately shut his mouth, gritted his teeth, and let out a disdainful sound.
"Tch!"
"You're really annoying."
Sasuke got up, brushed the dust off his back, stuffed his hands into his pockets, and walked away.
Naruto was still lost in his fantasy of having a twin brother—someone who would keep him from feeling so alone.
Just as he imagined the blond hair, Sasuke's words abruptly shattered his daydream.
"Huh???"
"Sasuke, tell me more!"
"And isn't sharing things with friends supposed to be..."
Naruto trailed off as he realized his words had crossed a line.
By the end, his voice had grown smaller and smaller.
Friends...
Were something far, far beyond his reach.
Sasuke, hands in his pockets, was about to leave the school when his footsteps suddenly paused. After about two seconds, he finally spoke.
"Who said I was friends with you, blondie?"
Naruto had been wallowing in sadness, but when he heard Sasuke's taunt, he immediately clenched his fists and shouted angrily, "You jerk!"
As if yelling could dispel all the awkwardness and sorrow from earlier.
Just before reaching the school gate, Sasuke suddenly turned his head and shot Naruto a disdainful glance.
"Let's go. If we don't leave soon..."
"The school's gonna close."
At that moment, Naruto froze. His expression shifted from dejection to joy in an instant, and the annoying jerk in front of him suddenly didn't seem so bad anymore.
"Hey, wait for me!"
Naruto noisily chased after Sasuke, pestering him with questions. "Hey hey hey, does this mean we're friends now?"
"I have a name."
Though Sasuke didn't directly answer Naruto's question, the implication was clear.
Even Naruto could understand what he meant.
"Ahahahaha, Sasuke, you're not so bad after all!"
Naruto grinned from ear to ear. As he walked side by side with Sasuke, he nudged him with his shoulder, prompting Sasuke to call him an "idiot" several times.
Not to be outdone, Sasuke retaliated by bumping his shoulder against the blond's—his own way of fighting back.Just like that, the two of them bickered their way out of school. But as they stepped through the gates, they spotted Kaito approaching from a distance.
"Hey, Sasuke, isn't that Big Bro Kaito?"
"Shut up, that's my younger brother."
Sasuke corrected Naruto with a dark expression, especially irritated when he heard Naruto call him "Big Bro Kaito."
It was as if the words were implying he was the younger one.
However, Sasuke found Kaito's appearance strange because, normally, that guy should be at home right now.
Why would he bother coming all the way here to find him?
"Do you need to pee?"
"I know, I know!"
"Wait until I pick up my little brother, then I'll take you back for dinner!"
Kaito muttered to himself, his expression growing more twisted with each sentence.
It wasn't that he was randomly losing his mind...
It was mainly because this damn mission had a progress bar, and if he didn't talk to his "Soul pet," the bar wouldn't budge at all.
What else could he say about it?
The system's task gave Kaito the strange feeling of being part of some bizarre roleplay.
Dragging the Puppet behind him, Kaito approached the two with a blank face, the odd clattering sounds following him all the way.
Sasuke had originally intended to greet him, but when he caught sight of the thing behind Kaito, he nearly turned around out of sheer embarrassment.
Naruto, on the other hand, was about to say hello, but Sasuke was afraid the loudmouthed blond would draw attention and make the situation even more humiliating.
"Kaito! Where did you pick up that piece of junk?!"
"What junk?!"
Hearing this, Kaito immediately bristled.
He was already frustrated enough trying to complete this stupid mission. He had painstakingly dragged the progress bar up to 29% by talking to his "Soul pet" the entire way here.
But now, thanks to Sasuke's comment, the progress had instantly dropped back to 20%.
Perhaps the "Soul pet" had taken offense at the outsider's remark...
And now, Kaito was pissed off too. If Naruto hadn't been there, he might've swung the damn Puppet at Sasuke right then and there.
[Mission Progress: 19%]
As if the system could read his mind, the progress bar dropped another percent the moment the thought crossed it.
Left with no choice, Kaito stiffened his expression, adopting the cold demeanor of an NPC, and began introducing his Soul pet to the two in front of him.
"This... is my newly acquired Soul pet—Uchiha Runtu."
To make his actions seem slightly less bizarre, he tugged on the rope, bringing the Soul pet forward as if it were greeting them.
Naruto: ?
Sasuke: ???
[Mission Progress: 27%]
The two of them exchanged bewildered glances. The incomprehensible words, paired with Kaito's inexplicable behavior, left even the usually thick-skinned Naruto at a loss for words.
Sasuke, meanwhile, was mortified. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he lowered his head and walked away without looking back.
He was terrified that Kaito's embarrassing antics would drag him down too.
Adopting a Puppet as a pet was already beyond Sasuke's understanding, but for Kaito to not only do that but also give the junk a name?
Every second spent near him felt like a stain on the Uchiha clan's honor.
And one more thing...
He was going to tattle! He'd make sure their parents gave this ridiculous guy a proper scolding!
"My foolish little brother, have you really grown so distant that you won't even walk home with your older brother?"
Kaito was a little hurt.
He had always believed that brothers should share both glory and shame, standing together through thick and thin.But what's with this kid acting like he wants nothing to do with me???
"My little brother, wait for me."
"Don't you like my new friend?"
Kaito hurried after Sasuke with his Soul pet in tow, while Sasuke, who had initially been walking fast, broke into a run—desperate not to let anyone in the village suspect he had any connection to the guy behind him...
When they got home, neither Fugaku nor Mikoto was there. It seemed Itachi was out on a mission too, leaving only the two brothers in the large house.
Worried he might catch whatever weirdness the other guy had, Sasuke quickly gathered his bedding and fled to Itachi's room.
Meanwhile, Kaito was busy installing a sound device into his Soul pet.
He had bought the device at a Konoha general store. To make sure the barking sounded authentic, he had even gone to a kennel to record some samples.
"Alright, let's see if a mechanical dog... actually counts as a dog..."
Kaito flicked the switch on the sound device, squinting slightly as he searched his mind for a nearby target to teleport to.
"Woof woof—"
Almost the instant the sound played, a shadowy figure appeared in his mind as a viable teleportation target.
A smirk tugged at Kaito's lips as he grabbed the Soul pet from the floor and hurled it outside, chanting under his breath.
"What the hell are you barking at!"
...