Chapter 50: "Senpai"
During the last class before dismissal the next day, Naruko suddenly noticed several high-grade female students' figures constantly moving by the classroom windows.
Those senpai would peek into the classroom from time to time, whispering to each other and occasionally letting out suppressed giggles.
"Sasuko..." Naruko quietly poked her deskmate's arm, lowering her voice: "Those girls outside the window are acting strange..."
Sasuko didn't even look up, her slender fingers continuing to write neat notes in her notebook: "Mind your own business." She couldn't even be bothered to lift her eyelids, completely focused on recording the chakra control points Iruka was explaining—the picture of a little academic who "turns a deaf ear to outside matters and focuses only on studying."
Naruko pouted and curiously glanced outside a few more times.
Suddenly, one senpai made direct eye contact with her and immediately gestured excitedly to her companions.
Naruko blinked in confusion and was about to wave hello when Sasuko pressed down her restless little hand.
"Pay attention to class, dummy." Sasuko said without looking up.
"Oh"
The moment the dismissal bell rang, Sasuko was the first to rush out of the classroom as usual, with Naruko following close behind like a little tail.
But at the staircase landing, several pretty high-grade senpais suddenly blocked their path.
"Oh my, aren't these the two cutest little first-years~" The lead senpai bent down close, her exaggerated tone carrying deliberate intimacy.
Naruko reflexively flashed her trademark brilliant smile: "Hello!" completely oblivious to the abnormal atmosphere.
But Sasuko instantly tensed up, her eyes warily scanning these uninvited guests.
When one senpai reached out to pat her head, she slapped the hand away with a "smack."
"What do you want." Sasuko asked coldly, simultaneously and inconspicuously pulling the still-grinning Naruko behind her.
"Don't be so fierce~" The rejected senpai wasn't annoyed but smiled even brighter, "We just want to make friends with cute underclassmen..."
Sasuko snorted coldly and tried to leave with the still-clueless Naruko.
She understood these people's intentions too well—wanting to approach Yu through them? Not a chance!
Seeing Sasuko was unmovable, several senpai exchanged glances and immediately switched strategies, targeting the innocent Naruko.
"Naruko, could you help us with a favor?" The lead senpai pulled out several beautifully decorated envelopes from her pocket, even sprayed with perfume, "Could you give these to your brother?"
Naruko blinked her big eyes and was about to reach out: "Sure—"
"Got it." Sasuko suddenly stepped forward and snatched the stack of love letters, "Don't bother us anymore." She coldly stuffed the letters randomly into her bag and pulled Naruko away.
"Hey! You need to deliver them personally!" The senpai panicked, reaching out to stop them.
Sasuko didn't look back, only dropping one line: "Say another word and I'll burn the envelopes too." Her voice wasn't loud, but it made several high-grade girls simultaneously stop in their tracks.
Naruko stumbled along being pulled, still waving back: "Goodbye!" completely missing Sasuko's increasingly dark expression.
Sasuko pulled Naruko through various twists and turns, finally stopping at a secluded trash can.
Without a word, she pulled out that stack of colorful envelopes from her bag and unhesitatingly threw them all in.
"Ah! Sasuko wait—" Naruko frantically tried to stop her, but her small hand grasped only air.
Thunk!
A hand chop landed on Naruko's little head.
"Ow..." Naruko covered her head, tears immediately welling in her azure eyes, "Sasuko, why did you hit me..."
"You super big dummy!" Sasuko put her hands on her hips, her small face flushed with anger, "Couldn't you tell those girls had bad intentions?" She pointed at those carefully decorated love letters in the trash, unconsciously raising her voice.
Naruko rubbed her head, belatedly blinking: "Eh? Didn't they just want to be friends with Yu-nii..."
"Idiot!" Sasuko stamped her feet in frustration, "Those letters... those letters..." She stammered for a long time, her face growing redder, finally just tossing her head, "Forget it! There's no point explaining to a dummy like you!"
"From now on, don't accept things from strangers, understand!"
"But those letters looked so pretty..."
Hearing this, Sasuko almost delivered another hand chop.
"Ahhh, how can there be such a dummy like you!"
In the shadows behind them, a figure stood quietly.
It was the same high-grade senpai who had delivered the letters earlier. The kind smile on her face had long since disappeared, replaced by a bone-chilling cold expression.
She silently watched the entire process of Sasuko throwing the letters into the trash, a strange gleam flashing in her dark pupils.
A breeze stirred, and her long hair began moving eerily, writhing as if alive.
"Heh... interesting."
The next second, an even more horrifying scene occurred—her body suddenly began melting, slowly collapsing like a pool of black sludge.
Her entire form gradually transformed into viscous black fluid, silently seeping into the stone cracks in the ground without leaving a trace.
In the final moment before she disappeared, those cold eyes still stared fixedly at Sasuko and Naruko's retreating figures, the gaze containing indescribable malice and calculation.
The campus remained filled with cheerful laughter—no one noticed this bizarre scene in the corner.
When he saw Sasuko and Naruko bouncing over to their usual spot at the school gate, Yu's originally gentle smile suddenly faltered.
His gaze lingered on Sasuko for a moment, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
"Sasuko," Yu crouched down, his voice more serious than usual, "did you encounter any strange people today?"
Sasuko's heart skipped a beat, her small hand unconsciously gripping her bag strap—had Yu discovered those love letters? She quickly shook her head, her dark eyes blinking: "No..."
As everyone knows, Sasuko liked telling little fibs.
Yu's frown deepened. He clearly sensed a trace of strange chakra on Sasuko—viscous, cold, like traces left by something corrupt.
But when he concentrated to investigate further, he couldn't find any abnormalities.
"Really nothing?" Yu asked again worriedly, his slender fingers gently brushing Sasuko's hair, trying to capture that fleeting sense of wrongness.
"Really nothing!" Sasuko guiltily changed the subject, tugging Yu's sleeve, "Yu, I'm hungry. Let's go eat dango!"
Naruko on the side, though confused, also joined in: "Dango! Dango!"
Yu looked at both little girls' expectant eyes and finally sighed softly, temporarily suppressing his doubts.