The only problem being that she wasn't the only one that he attracted, as several first-year students stopped what they were doing to stare at their senior.
Koneko stopped moving and turned around, eyes surprised as she momentarily ceased her attempts at getting to her next class. "Naruto-sempai?"
As the two teenagers finally faced each other, many other curious first-year students watched, some partaking in blatant gossip.
"Hey...that's Uzumaki Naruto; the delinquent, right? He doesn't look like that bad of a guy..."
"Yeah, I heard he's just got a problem with authority. Outside of that, I've heard he's a pretty chill guy."
"Do you think that he would appreciate it if one of us talked to him...?"
"Hey, isn't he Naruse Mio's older brother? So she is a closet bro-con for him then?"
A cheshire smile spread across his lips, he would ignore most of those comments, but that last one...? The teasing material for that one was too much to just ignore.
Naruto walked up to the somewhat confused and wary Koneko. "Fancy seeing you here, huh Koneko-san?"
The young devil didn't respond immediately, she simply stared at the older boy in front of her with a suspicious look. "...What are you doing here, Naruto-sempai?"
The blond opened his mouth to respond, but Koneko quickly interrupted. "If you're trying to trick me into helping you with a prank...you can forget it."
Naruto's eyes widened at the accusation. "Huh? Of course not. Forcing people to partake in a prank of mine when they don't want to is against my code of conduct."
The rook said nothing for a moment, tilting her head slightly to the side at the blond's words. "...You have a code of conduct...for pranking?"
A foxy grin spread across the blond's face as he puffed his chest out in pride. "Of course! All professionals need a code of conduct! So that means that I need one for pranking, it's just that simple."
Koneko said nothing, her suspicion still palpable. His tricking her into a prank could very well be the prank.
The grin on Naruto's face faltered slightly. "Oh come on Koneko-san, I wouldn't be that maniacal. I promise that I'm not trying to trick you, ok?"
Finally, the young devil relaxed a little, while the boy in front of her was a prankster, he also took his promises seriously.
"Then why are you here? I'd think that you would be trying to leave school altogether by now."
Naruto's expression finally went serious, regarding the younger girl silently for a moment.
Truth be told, he planned on seeing her after the debacle yesterday anyways, regardless of his guilty feelings of re-opening some wounds of the past.
First and foremost, she was a comrade, even if this had nothing to do with him, he would have still tried to see if she was alright.
He very simply had more of an incentive to help her now.
"...Are you ok? After the...well...everything that happened yesterday? I heard you had a pretty rough time." the shinobi eventually said, eyes understanding.
Koneko straightened slightly, on edge due to how close the question hit close to home. How much the he know exactly...?
"...I'm fine."
Naruto stared at the thoroughly recalcitrant rook, eyes exhibiting her unwillingness to divulge her...personal problems.
"...I don't know much, but I do know that you were hurt by someone close, right?" the shinobi said levelly, eyes studying the younger girl's facial features for a reaction.
He got one.
Koneko's lips thinned and her eyes narrowed, obviously somewhat upset at the unwelcome intrusion.
By this point the hallway has mostly emptied, most students have left to their classes to make sure they didn't get chewed out by their teacher. So the rook quickly took this chance to turn away from the blond in front of her and walk to the window, staring out the window with a blank face.
Naruto watched Koneko move to the window, silently watching her for a moment before joining her, waiting for her to respond.
After a few more seconds of silence, Koneko finally spoke again. "Naruto-sempai...thank you for your concern, honestly. But this...'problem' isn't something that I feel comfortable talking about. Can we just drop it?"
The shinobi glanced at the younger girl beside him, taking in her somber profile.
He then blew out some air from his mouth, scratching the back of his head. "Alright, if you insist then I can't really say much more on this, can I?"
Koneko's shoulders, which were somewhat tense throughout the conversation, finally relaxed a bit.
"...That being said." Naruto continued, eyeing Koneko's profile again and noting that her shoulders became stiff once more. "You do realize that you could come talk to me about it...right? Even if it's just for the sake of needing to have someone listen."
The young devil just shook her head slowly. "Naruto-sempai, stop. My issues are in the past, not the present. You have more than enough on your plate as it is...my problems shouldn't have to burden you."
Blue eyes snapped to the rook, zeroing in on her with intensity. "Koneko-san...you're my friend, whether you acknowledge it or not. Helping those you care about isn't a burden."
Koneko didn't respond, only staring out the window with a frown on her face.
Naruto continued to stare at the younger girl for a little longer, before sighing and turning his attention away from her. There was nothing more he could do at the moment.
All he could really do was lend a hand if she felt inclined to talk, so until things changed, he couldn't really intervene. Not until he had the full story.
Blue eyes narrowed, unless he told her about his ability to use senjutsu... Maybe they could form a concord between one another and possibly help her overcome her fears...
But the blond quickly shook his head, she associated senjutsu as something 'bad', it's more likely that she would grow to fear him rather than talk to him. Even if he was completely sane. She would simply see him as a ticking time bomb that would eventually lose control.
Koneko was just going to have to approach Naruto rather than vice-versa.
A stray thought drifted across his mind, wait...maybe there really was a way to help Koneko? What if he-?
"Naruto-sempai?"
Naruto jumped slightly, just slightly though. No way he'd get that caught off guard, right?
The shinobi tilted his head to regard the quiet devil besides him, raising an eyebrow when he realized that she was concentrating on something outside...
"Isn't that your friend out there?" Koneko asked tentatively, unsure.
Blue eyes trailed after the rook's line of sight, frowning as he considered who it could possibly-
His jaw dropped.
"M-Maria!?" Naruto cried out, eyes bulging in shock.
Koneko slowly turned to the whiskered teen, uncertainty dancing in her eyes. "...Is she supposed to be here?"
Naruto didn't respond immediately, he first opened the window and jumped on top of the window sill, crouched and poised to jump off. Only then did he regard his kouhai through the side of his eye. "...Before I go and make sure that Maria's up to no good, I want you to know that I've seen your eyes before."
The young devil raised her chin up, uncertain, yet still too curious to not risk asking. "...Where?"
The shinobi turned back outside, a small grin on his face that didn't reach his eyes.
"In a mirror of course."
Koneko stared at the older boy's back as he jumped off, no doubt about to catch his friend and chew her out. Mind racing.
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