The source of this killing intent came from Ruri.
At this moment, Ruri had exited her blushing state. After taking a deep breath, she looked at Shiraishi with an expression that he couldn't fully comprehend.
Shiraishi, despite being unable to decipher this peculiar gaze, felt an unprecedented sense of pressure weighing down on him.
It must be because of his intention to buy her a kimono just now, which made her emotions even more unpredictable than usual.
That's right, even if he put himself in her shoes, he knew that his earlier comments would surely make any girl very angry and embarrassed.
"W-well… how should I put it, it was truly full of coincidences and surprises. If giving a kimono has such a special meaning, then…"
For a fleeting moment, Ruri's killing intent seemed to intensify.
Although she had already averted her gaze from Shiraishi, standing calmly and looking elsewhere as if nothing had happened.
But Shiraishi knew it wasn't an illusion at all.
At this point, never mind making amends, whether he could even leave this clothing store smoothly was a question worth considering.
Shiraishi turned his gaze to Teacher Fujimura, seeking his help.
Fujimura, however, spoke with a righteous tone: "Chiba-kun, don't always think about asking adults for help when you encounter difficulties. You are now a qualified ninja, and you must learn to be self-sufficient."
Of course, this was definitely not because he was scared and dared not offer a helping hand.
After all, he was an excellent Chunin who had been repeatedly selected as an elite teacher at the Ninja Academy. How could such an outstanding person abandon his own student?
This was entirely due to his desire to train his student's ability to rescue themselves.
That's right, this was training.
"I really like the color of this dress, and the size is also suitable. What do you think?"
Just then, Ruri suddenly uttered these words. Her expression had completely returned to normal, and her gaze was still fixed on the clothes, seemingly just asking for a casual opinion.
"Y-yes… I think so too, it suits you, Ruri."
"…"
"…"
...Uh? What?
This silence, how should I put it, was like an important hidden hint in a game's plot.
If it wasn't triggered, the plot couldn't proceed smoothly to the next step.
Therefore, trying to gloss over it was impossible.
But was this really okay?
He didn't know how to explain the strange feeling that had arisen in his heart at this moment.
A marriage proposal?
No, he didn't even know that clothes had such a hidden meaning, so he just needed to maintain his usual composure.
This was just a witness between friends.
But there was still... a sense of guilt, of profanity.
He should have known not to speak out of turn.
He was the one who had put himself in this difficult position.
Shiraishi cleared his throat, pointed at the kimono, and said, "Teacher Fujimura, please bring that kimono over. I want to buy it."
Fujimura smiled and, following Shiraishi's instruction, took down the kimono Ruri had liked and packaged it.
"Chiba-kun, it only becomes truly meaningful when a boy personally gives this kind of clothing to a girl."
So annoying, why do you have to talk so much! Shiraishi retorted in his mind, annoyed.
Ruri's gaze towards Teacher Fujimura, the Chunin, softened a bit, filled with satisfaction.
Finally, he watched Shiraishi and Ruri, carrying the kimono, leave the clothing store.
"Young people these days are truly impressive. However, if they were to marry, is Chiba-kun planning to be adopted into the Uchiha family later?"
Fujimura sighed. Ruri was not only a genius of the Uchiha clan, but it was also said that her family was super rich. If they were to marry, it was more likely that the man would be adopted into her family.
But it's still too early, marriage and all that.
◎
Time came to the next day.
Shiraishi woke up in a daze.
Because of yesterday's events, he had tossed and turned all night under the covers, unable to sleep well, feeling extremely embarrassed.
Just thinking about how he had personally given the kimono with special significance to Ruri after returning yesterday filled him with a strong sense of guilt.
Although he kept trying to convince himself that it didn't have that special meaning, that it was purely friendship.
But, would that really be the case?
Because after he personally placed the item in Ruri's hands, he didn't even look at her expression, only remembering his disheveled appearance as he fled back to the lab in a panic.
Even his experiments last night were distracted, with constant errors.
This peculiar feeling was truly complex and hard to describe.
Shaking off the random thoughts in his head, the most important thing now was work, not dwelling on irrelevant matters.
But the more he tried, the more he thought about yesterday's events.
What would Ruri think?
Would she consider it a marriage proposal?
That's too strange, physiologically speaking, they were only twelve years old... Would she think he was frivolous?
Would she dislike him? Or like him? Or feel nothing at all?
"Ah…"
One thought after another flooded his mind, making his head feel like it was about to explode.
Shiraishi opened his mouth and let out a heavy sigh, trying to calm himself down.
And so, most of the morning passed in a muddle.
It was truly frustrating.
Just as Shiraishi was troubled—
In the courtyard outside.
A maid walked up to Ruri, who was leisurely feeding fish by the pond, and whispered a few words in her ear.
Ruri nodded after listening to the maid.
The maid left, and soon after, she returned with a girl dressed in white.
This girl had pure white pupils and was curiously observing the unusually large mansion. It was Ayane.
"You may leave."
Ruri glanced at the maid.
"Yes."
The maid bowed slightly and left, leaving Ruri and Ayane alone.
"Is this your home, Ruri? Although I heard about it from Shiraishi-kun, seeing it in person is more impressive than I imagined."
Ayane walked over and said with a smile.
"It's nothing, just a normal size. I don't think it would surprise you."
Ruri continued to scatter some food, feeding the fish in the pond, watching them swim quickly to snatch the food, splashing water.
"Also, put away your fake smile. Don't pretend in front of me. You should know that I'm not fooled by your act."
After that, Ruri unceremoniously added, her sharp gaze directly at Ayane.
"What are you talking about, Ruri? I don't quite understand…"
Mid-sentence, Ruri disappeared from her sight, and her words were cut short.
Ruri stood there, poised to choke Ayane, but was unable to proceed with the next move.
Ayane's right middle and index fingers gently pressed against Ruri's heart.
"Is this what you rely on? Gentle Fist combined with natural energy?"
Ruri asked Ayane with interest.
Ayane had not been without growth during this month in Konoha.
Although it was still impossible to precisely observe how much the power of the Gentle Fist could be enhanced after integrating natural energy, the Ayane of the past, even with her Byakugan activated, would not have been able to react so quickly, even if she could catch her figure.
"Indeed, you are the type I least want to deal with. Not only your strength, but also your personality, we just don't get along."
The smile on Ayane's face completely vanished, and she sighed with a helpless tone.
"Likewise."
Ruri removed her hand from Ayane's throat.
Ayane also withdrew her two fingers.
It appeared to be an evenly matched fight, but Ayane still dared not be careless. This was someone whose growth rate surpassed her own.
If she became complacent because of this small achievement, she would ultimately be the one to suffer.
"Speaking of which…"
Seeing that Ruri no longer had the desire to fight, Ayane felt relieved and then looked at Ruri with a strange expression.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with me?"
"No, I wanted to ask, is today a special day for your Uchiha clan?"
As one of the only two prestigious ninja clans in Konoha with a Kekkei Genkai, Ayane couldn't claim to know everything about the Uchiha, but if it was a special festival, she should know something.
But she couldn't recall today being any special Uchiha day.
"Why do you ask?"
Ayane heard Ruri's counter-question and pointed to the light blue, well-fitting kimono she was wearing. Although her hair was down, her appearance was quite formal.
"Your clothes…"
"This? What about it?"
"Generally speaking, isn't this the kind of clothing one should only wear during important festivals or celebrations?"
Ayane voiced the doubt in her heart.
No matter how she looked at it, suddenly wearing a kimono on a day like this felt strangely out of place.
"That's none of your business, don't meddle. Besides, why should I explain to you?"
Ruri sat by the pond, frowning, and stopped feeding the fish.
"We really don't get along."
Ayane was not at all surprised by Ruri's extremely cold reaction; in fact, it made perfect sense, feeling that this was Ruri's true self.
During missions, her calm demeanor with her was only due to her adherence to the responsibilities of teamwork.
However, now that it was vacation, the conflict had erupted.
"What are you doing here?"
Ruri asked Ayane the purpose of her visit.
Actually, she didn't even need to think; Ayane would definitely not be here to find her.
So, the purpose was self-evident.
"I just came to check on a classmate and catch up."
"Boring. He's at the lab, go find him yourself."
"Can I use my Byakugan?"
Ayane asked with a smile.
"You can try."
Ayane became troubled by Ruri's expression, which was as if she were guarding against a thief.
Ruri, however, enjoyed Ayane's helpless look, feeling a surge of satisfaction.
"Alright, if there's nothing else, you can leave. My family is short on food recently, so I apologize for not being able to prepare lunch for you."
Ruri began to usher her out, her tone not at all polite.
"…"
Ayane scratched her head and gave a wry smile.
"Aren't you leaving yet? I told you, I won't prepare lunch for you."
"No, it's because Shiraishi-kun gave me a very important observation task earlier. Please have him meet me at our usual spot at two in the afternoon. I'll give him the important observation data."
"You can just give it to me, and I'll pass it on to him. There's no need to meet outside."
"I put that data somewhere else, and I don't have it with me now. Besides, I must personally give it to Shiraishi-kun to feel at ease."
Ayane said unhurriedly.
Ruri frowned in displeasure.
"You should know how important my Byakugan is to Shiraishi-kun's research, right? So, please pass that message on to him. I'm counting on you, Ruri."
Ayane smiled slightly, turned, and left without any hesitation.
Ruri watched Ayane leave until her figure completely disappeared from sight, then she withdrew her gaze and let out a calm sigh.
There was no need to get angry over such a trivial matter.
That's right, this was just a minor thing, no need to dwell on it at all... But what was this sudden surge of annoyance in her heart?
No matter how she looked at it, it was that guy's fault, right?
—Noon.
While Shiraishi and Ruri were eating together, he heard that Ayane had come to see him earlier, saying she had important observation data to give him.
"I see, I did ask her to do that before. I didn't expect results so quickly. As expected of the Byakugan, it's been a great help."
Shiraishi exclaimed.
But noticing Ruri's increasingly eerie and terrifying gaze, her face seemingly completely darkened, Shiraishi immediately changed his tone:
"Uh, actually, that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is the research funds or materials you provided me, Ruri. That's the most crucial part. The Byakugan's role isn't as significant as I imagined."
After listening to Shiraishi's flustered explanation, Ruri's gaze finally softened a bit.
Subsequently, Shiraishi also noticed the light blue kimono Ruri was wearing, which was the one he had bought and given to her yesterday.
Thus, Shiraishi's expression became a bit subtle.
During the meal, he also subtly avoided looking, pretending as if nothing was amiss.
"I'm not wearing this for you."
Seeing that Shiraishi had noticed the kimono she was wearing, Ruri, fearing he might misunderstand, spoke up to explain.
"Huh?"
Stopping his eating, Shiraishi looked over in surprise.
"Don't flatter yourself. It just so happens that I prefer the style and color of this dress."
"…"
"Also, I'm only wearing it now. I won't wear it for New Year's. Sorry to disappoint your expectations."
"…"
I didn't say anything.
But hearing that she wouldn't wear this kimono for New Year's did make him feel a bit empty inside.
Seeing Ruri turn her head slightly at this moment, not looking directly at him, was she… embarrassed?
He had thought he was very embarrassed when he personally handed her the kimono yesterday, but Ruri was probably feeling similar, right?
Thinking this, the annoyance from last night and this morning lessened considerably.
"Mm-hmm, I know."
"Good that you know. I'm full."
Under Shiraishi's strange gaze, Ruri put down her bowl and chopsticks, took even, small steps, and elegantly walked out of the room.
After closing the door, Ruri leaned her back against it, her head bowed. Her hair could only conceal some of her facial expressions, not all of them.
Her earlobes were completely red.
(PS: Let's see if I can update more tomorrow. After all, it's the first day of 2021, so it should have a good start... Also, I'm not a full-time author; I take on other jobs during the day, so this is more of a side hustle. Updates might be a bit slow... Please bear with me.)