Friendship Turning Sour

Natsuhiko glanced again at Kushina, who had just picked up her book.

"Kushina."

"..."

"Kushina-san?"

"..."

This time, Kushina didn't put the book down but used it to cover her face, leaving only her eyes exposed as she looked at Natsuhiko with suspicion.

Something about Natsuhiko seemed off lately. He felt... clingy.

It should be noted that recently, apart from being at home, she had been spending almost all her time with him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Come over here. I have something for you."

"A gift?" Kushina's face lit up, her suspicions momentarily forgotten as she got up and walked towards Natsuhiko.

But after a few steps, she grew wary again. "It's not another bodysuit, is it? I passed all the ones you gave me last time to Grandma Mito. She liked them and said she wanted to collect all seven colours of the rainbow, one for each day of the week."

Natsuhiko, having never met Mito and imagining her as an old granny, couldn't help but picture some unsettling images.

'Why did Chiyo get the swimsuit and Mito get the bodysuit?' Natsuhiko shook his head vigorously, pushing the strange images from his mind. He then helplessly said, "Relax, it's not a bodysuit."

I was saying that he placed a wooden box on the table.

Kushina, curious, approached and opened the box. Inside was a shiny black wooden bracelet.

"Wow, this bracelet is so beautiful!"

Kushina, who is not very knowledgeable about jewellery, simply found the bracelet aesthetically pleasing. But she quickly realised something—bracelets aren't something you casually give to a girl.

Considering Natsuhiko's clingy behaviour lately, she thought of a possibility.

Could it be?

I see you as a brother, but you want to date me?

Kushina felt her face heat up and quickly raised the box to hide her face.

What should she do!?

This was so sudden. She had never thought in this direction before!

She really only saw Natsuhiko as a good friend and mentor. While many of her peers had started thinking about dating during their time at the ninja academy, she wasn't interested. She was too absorbed in the hot-blooded ninja school plot, determined to become unbeatable there.

At this moment, Kushina recalled something Grandma Mito had once told her:

"...Kushina, you're not young anymore. You should think about falling in love. Don't be like your sister Tsunade, who at thirty still can't get married and makes me worry so much..."

Fall in love, huh? 

Kushina subconsciously glanced at Natsuhiko, then quickly looked away.

She had grown accustomed to being around Natsuhiko over the semester. He was actually quite good-looking...

Wait!

Stay calm, Kushina!

Her well-maintained brain was working frantically.

She couldn't jump to conclusions so quickly!

Natsuhiko was such a clueless guy; he probably didn't understand the implications. After all, this was someone who once thought giving a girl a bodysuit was a good idea.

That's right! She had to make sure before making any decisions. If she got it wrong, she'd be teased by him forever!

Having made up her mind, Kushina didn't dare take the bracelet out of the box. Using a casual tone, she tentatively asked, "Natsuhiko, why are you giving me a bracelet all of a sudden?"

"There's a fundamental reason for that," Natsuhiko said with a warm smile, raising his left hand to show an identical black wooden bracelet on his wrist.

A matching couple's bracelet!

Such a direct approach!

Has Natsuhiko had a revelation or something?

The straightforwardness made the inexperienced Kushina feel her face burning, and she was too shy to look at him.

Seeing her silence, Natsuhiko continued, "Actually, I have a small request for you, Kushina."

"Go ahead," Kushina said softly.

Would you be my tester and help me test the functionality of this new invention?

"Wha... Wait, huh!?"

Kushina: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ "You mean being a tester?"

Natsuhiko looked puzzled: "Yes, what else did you think I was going to say?"

"Am—ou—Natsu—hiko!!!"

Kushina's red hair split into nine strands and floated upwards, her face as terrifying as someone opening the Eight Gates...

"Wait, Kushina, calm down. Did I say something wrong? Wait—ah!"

...

A moment later, Natsuhiko sat in a chair, clutching his chest in pain.

Meanwhile, Kushina stood by the window, humming a tune. She raised her left hand, now adorned with the bracelet, happily examining it in the sunlight.

It was only in the sunlight that she noticed the intricate patterns on the bracelet were actually tiny runic inscriptions.

What a beautiful piece of rune craftsmanship!

She then looked at Natsuhiko, pouting, "Natsuhiko, stop pretending. I didn't even use much force. Show me how to use this thing."

Is your definition of 'not much force' based on Tsunade's standards? 

Natsuhiko thought to himself, rubbing his sore chest.

He then instructed, "Try injecting some chakra into it first."

"Okay."

Kushina nodded and did as he said. As the chakra flowed into the bracelet, she felt it warm slightly. Before she could ask about it, a scroll appeared in front of her, startling her.

"What's this?"

Instinctively, she reached out to touch the scroll, but her hand passed right through it.

She looked at the bracelet on her wrist and asked, "Is this bracelet like a duel disk, able to project images?"

Natsuhiko casually explained, "While it does have that feature, what you're seeing now isn't a projection but an illusion."

"In other words, I can't see the scroll in front of you."

Kushina was momentarily taken aback, but then she realised her chakra was indeed slightly disturbed, a sign that she was under an illusion.

She quickly understood the benefit of this feature—it wouldn't be visible to others like a projection.

"And then? What next?"

Kushina was growing more curious about the bracelet's functions.

Natsuhiko smiled, "Don't rush. For clarity, switch from illusion mode to projection mode. You'll find the option on the top right of the initial interface."

"Oh, let me see."

Kushina examined the virtual scroll in front of her. She was familiar with similar interfaces from the machines at the Ninja Tavern, so navigating it was easy for her.

She saw several options on the scroll:

Forum (Not Available)

Chat Tool (Name Not Decided)

Library (Books Not Yet Added)

Mini-Games (In Development)

Settings (Please Restart if Stuck)

In the top right corner was the switch option:

Illusion Mode/Projection Mode

Kushina tapped it, feeling the image before her stabilise.

However, she noticed the chakra disturbance had ceased, indicating the virtual scroll was now a projection.

"Now, Kushina, try opening the chat tool and typing something to see what happens."

Kushina, familiar with the input method from the tavern games, quickly tapped on the chat tool, typed out a line on the virtual keyboard, and hit send.

A soft beep sounded from Natsuhiko's bracelet.

Natsuhiko raised his hand, revealing an identical projection. He opened the chat tool to see a line of text.

Natsuhiko is a big dummy!

So, basically, I looked through some stuff and contemplated a lot and finally came to the conclusion that I should post a bulk of chapters on my Patreon.

I have entirely stacked up chapters after a lot of hard work, and in a few hours, 50 advanced chapters of Sealing Jutsu Sensei will be available in the 10 USD Tier of my Patreon!! So make sure to check them out there, my beloved readers.

Btw I will update this fic after 3 days now as i have to bulk translate two of my other fics as well so bear with me!

pat reon.com/ReidAstrea

(End of the Chapter)