"Aaah—!"
Kyūsei stuffed the very last bite of breakfast into his mouth in one go.
"Slow down, Kyūsei. Be careful not to choke."
A gentle, graceful woman beside him reached out and patted his head fondly.
"That's because Aunt Biwako's cooking is too delicious~"
Kyūsei said with a grin.
"Is that so?"
Sarutobi Biwako smiled warmly.
"If you like it, then eat more~"
Of course, she didn't take his flattery seriously at all.
If she really believed the nonsense this little brat spouted, she might as well go smash her head against a block of tofu.
Her cooking was decent at best—nothing compared to what you could buy outside.
"Shinnosuke! Hurry up!"
"Kyūsei's already finished eating—why are you still not up?!"
"Do you even want to go to school today?!"
"If you keep dawdling, do you want to experience a mother's loving discipline?!"
The moment Kyūsei swallowed the last bite, Biwako instantly dropped her gentle tone and yelled toward the bedroom.
"Coming, coming!"
"Wait—why is Kyūsei here?!"
A black-haired boy about Kyūsei's age stumbled out in a hurry, hopping around as he shoved his feet into his shoes—clearly traumatized by his mother.
Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
Hiruzen's eldest son.
Asuma's older brother.
And the future father of Konohamaru.
"Yo, morning, Shin~"
Kyūsei greeted him with a bright, infuriating smile.
"Why the hell are you here?!"
Shinnosuke looked at Kyūsei with open hostility.
"Isn't this the choice of fate, Shin~?"
If there was anyone at the Ninja Academy who hated Kyūsei the most, Shinnosuke unquestionably ranked first—
even the Uchiha had to settle for second place.
Kyūsei was the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
To maintain good relations, Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally paid extra attention to him—and Kyūsei was more than happy to accept it.
Over time, aside from being annoyed by Kyūsei's unruly behavior, Hiruzen actually liked the Uzumaki kid quite a lot.
And Biwako, as Hiruzen's wife, naturally knew Kyūsei's true identity.
She would never do anything harmful to the Hokage—and so she also looked after Kyūsei often.
But to Shinnosuke, all of this meant only one thing:
This random bastard had stolen his parents' love.
Worse still—
On the very first day of school, Kyūsei had beaten him up and declared that everyone, including Shinnosuke, was now his underling.
Even the girl Shinnosuke admired most—Namikaze Kaoru—seemed to have special feelings toward this jerk.
That alone made him grind his teeth in hatred.
But the most unforgivable part was—
Kyūsei completely ignored Kaoru.
Shinnosuke could accept his goddess rejecting him.
He could even accept her liking someone else.
But he could not accept her practically throwing herself at someone—
Only for that person to act like he didn't even see her.
"That's fate my ass!"
"And my name is Shinnosuke!"
"Not Shin!!"
Shinnosuke snapped angrily.
Smack.
Biwako knocked him lightly on the head.
"Shinnosuke, how can you talk like that?"
"Kyūsei's been waiting for you to go to school together."
"And 'Shin' sounds quite nice."
"You two should get along properly~"
Shinnosuke clenched his teeth and glared at Kyūsei, a sudden wave of grievance surging up inside him.
Why?
Why did this guy get to steal his parents' affection—and still have his mom scold him?
Wuwuwu…
Holding back his frustration, Shinnosuke silently grabbed a slice of bread from the table and stormed out.
"Then Shin and I are heading out now, Aunt Biwako."
Kyūsei immediately followed after him and waved goodbye.
"Be careful on the road, Kyūsei."
Biwako glanced at her son and sighed softly.
She knew exactly what Shinnosuke was thinking.
But Kyūsei's identity was a secret among secrets—
not something a Ninja Academy student could ever be told.
Even if that student was the Hokage's son.
And honestly, in her eyes, Kyūsei's personality was rather likable—
much more adorable than her overly honest, stiff son.
—
"Hey, Shin, why aren't you talking?"
"Shin, is one slice of bread enough for you?"
"Shin, I didn't do the homework—can I copy yours?"
"Shin, how about you just do mine for me?"
"Shin, Shin—why aren't you talking?"
"Shin—"
Kyūsei followed Shinnosuke like an unpaid-for chatterbox, calling his name nonstop.
"Can you shut up already?!"
"And stop calling me Shin!!"
Shinnosuke finally snapped.
Kyūsei hesitated for a moment.
"Eh?"
"Then… should I call you Big-suke?"
You motherf—!!
Just as Shinnosuke was about to explode, his eyes suddenly lit up.
A golden figure he dreamed about appeared at the corner of the street.
"Kaoru!"
"Good morning!"
Shinnosuke immediately dashed over, eager to show his presence.
"Good morning, Shinnosuke."
Kaoru greeted him politely, then looked toward Kyūsei approaching behind him.
A smile flickered across her face.
Her beautiful blue eyes curved into crescent moons.
"Good morning, Kyūsei."
Shinnosuke felt like he'd been struck by lightning.
She called him "Shinnosuke"—formal and distant.
But Kyūsei?
She called him by name.
Why?!
Just because he had red hair?!
I'll dye mine too someday!
And then—
What completely shattered Shinnosuke's worldview—
Kyūsei, who usually ignored Kaoru, actually smiled back.
"Morning, Kaoru."
Kaoru's smile instantly grew brighter.
Shinnosuke's soul cracked.
Wasn't Kyūsei supposed to dislike Kaoru?!
Why did they suddenly look so close?!
It felt like just one day had passed—
And yet everything had changed.
He could clearly feel it.
His goddess was drifting farther and farther away from him…
Wuwuwu…
—
"Hokage-sama, these are last night's interrogation results."
Hyūga Shiori, sporting heavy dark circles, handed the report to Hiruzen.
But Hiruzen didn't open it right away.
Instead, he looked at her thoughtfully and chose his words carefully.
"Nao…"
"What do you think—"
"About Kyūsei, that child?"
"Eh?"
Nao froze.
What kind of question was that?
Kyūsei?
That infuriating little bastard should be kept as far away from her life as possible—
The farther, the better!