Naruto Hiden

Chapter 62

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Meat and Steam

The flames s.h.i.+mmered, flickering and swaying from side to side.

I wonder why people always find it so calming to watch fire?

That curious thought suddenly entered Nara s.h.i.+kamaru’s head.

It was probably something that had started generations ago, back when people were still waiting on civilisation to happen. In those days, fire had always been a constant companion to people.

Fire had illuminated their surroundings and held the darkness of night at bay. It protected people from both the cold and foreign invaders. It had also been used as a signal, to find the location of your comrades, and the way back home.

Years and years of those activities had bled into people’s genes, and surely been pa.s.sed onto s.h.i.+kamaru himself. That was why, sitting in front of the warm flames, he felt such a soothing feeling.

That feeling was pa.s.sed on in Konoha’s ‘Will of Fire’.

From parent to child. From child to grandchild. From teacher to student. From friend to friend.

Your feelings were tied to each other. Connected.

Maybe that Will of Fire had started out as a small flame that anyone could easily put out.

But it hadn’t disappeared. Even now, it was still being pa.s.sed on, from person to person, and still burning bright.

It was those connections spanning generations that made fire so soothing. No matter how much time pa.s.sed, every single cell in s.h.i.+kamaru’s body was marked with the memories of those who had come before him, and found fire to be such a comfort.

People would use fire to cook food and sit around it, gazing into the flames as they ate. Before they realised what was happening, they’d gather around it in groups of loved ones.

Back then, and now, that was a sight that never changed. In fact, in this moment, s.h.i.+kamaru was sitting in front of a warm fire and eating a meal with his best friend, Akimichi Chouji.

Chatter. Laughter. The sound of clinking tableware. Most of all, the sound of sizzling meat as it cooked.

Yakiniku Q.

It was the usual place for s.h.i.+kamaru and the rest.

When it came to barbecue restaurants like this, people usually expected them to be crowded at night only, and not be all that busy during the day. Yakiniku Q was an exception, always bustling with people during noon and the night. Their meat was cheap, and on top of that high quality, so the restaurant was very popular.

And that meant that right now, at this very lunch hour, Yakiniku Q was no different from a battlefield.

Orders were being called out from seats on every side, calls for beer or oolong tea or utensils all being met by the hurrying restaurant workers. They were hurrying around the store, circling around all the customers in a rush. The place was hectic.

s.h.i.+kamaru was watching the frantic state of the workers out of the corner of his eye as he put a single piece of meat onto the grill.

The deep red colour of the meat almost seemed to s.h.i.+ne, the fat glistening like a pearl. Proof that it was fresh. The mouth-watering sizzling sound mixed in with the delicious smell wafting through the restaurant.

s.h.i.+kamaru and Chouji had decided to have lunch here at the usual place.

The decision itself had happened just a while ago.

s.h.i.+kamaru had headed out to do some shopping, and b.u.mped into Chouji in the middle of the road. They’d gotten to talking.

Then Chouji said, “It’s about to be lunchtime anyway, so how about eating some meat together?” and here they were at their usual hangout of Yakiniku Q.

s.h.i.+kamaru had entered the shop with the intention of stopping by briefly, like one would do at a tea shop, but Chouji always did this.

‘Some meat’ he’d said– as if! Chouji never sat down without the intention to dedicate himself to eating all he could.

s.h.i.+kamaru’s piece of meat on the grill was starting to get nice and juicy. He reached out with his chopsticks and flipped it over. The underside had been grilled beautifully.

If the meat got grilled for too long, it’d get too hard. You had to keep careful watch to make sure it didn’t get over-cooked.

Most people liked to let their meat cook for a period of time decided by instinct alone, but a recent research study had concluded that those people usually ended up cooking their meat for too long.

…Or at least, that was what Chouji had told s.h.i.+kamaru while they were talking.

Chouji himself, right in the middle of criticising those over-cookers, ate a piece of meat off the grill that didn’t look anywhere near cooked yet.

Chouji had a tendency to eat meat when it was still too close to raw for comfort. s.h.i.+kamaru thought it was better to grill meat a bit more.

His piece on the grill looked like it was about ready to eat. Just as s.h.i.+kamaru reached out with his chopsticks, his meat was s.n.a.t.c.hed away before his very eyes.

Chouji. He had grabbed the piece and stuffed it into his mouth with a large sound of content.

“That was…my meat…”

“Huh? Ohhhh, sorry s.h.i.+kamaru. I saw it was ready to eat, and before I even realised, my hands just…” Chouji looked apologetic as he realised he’d s.n.a.t.c.hed up the wrong meat.

“Ah well, it’s alright. There’s still plenty more meat to eat, after all.”

So saying, s.h.i.+kamaru put another piece of meat on the grill. He turned back to Chouji with a broad grin, and said:

“After all, better you eat it than having it burnt to a crisp, right?”

Chouji grinned back at his friend, and then returned his focus to chewing the contraband meat in his mouth, adding some rice too.

“This meat is really good.” He mumbled as he chewed.

s.h.i.+kamaru stared, wondering if Chouji had noticed the despicable timing of that comment.

“Cooking with a charcoal-powered grill is really hard for amateurs.” Chouji continued. “So when it comes to cooking and eating a lot of meat at the same time, gas-powered grills are the best. They really chose a great method for cooking good meat.”

Yup, Chouji was blissfully ignorant. His comment had been about the meat’s cooking method being good.

While Chouji talked, he kept guzzling down more rice, too. Oh man, at this rate the bowl was gonna get empty in no time.

s.h.i.+kamaru somehow managed to flag down a restaurant worker in the chaos and ask for another serving of rice.

The thing about Chouji’s unapologetically large appet.i.te was that it felt nice to watch him eat. Watching him eat somehow made s.h.i.+kamaru feel full too, even though he hadn’t eaten all that much, and even got his own meat stolen from right under his nose.

It was because of this that s.h.i.+kamaru somehow always found himself unnecessarily meddling to make sure Chouji ate well. In the end, he pushed the second piece of meat he’d put on the grill towards Chouji as well.

Chouji handled his chopsticks with frightening skill, and the meat disappeared in the blink of an eye. One by one, rows of barely cooked meat all disappeared into the insides of Chouji’s mouth.

Chouji looked incredibly happy after eating so much meat. On top of that, somehow he’d lately started looking dignified while eating as well.

Meat, rice, meat, rice, meat, rice, meat, meat, meat… Chouji continued eating nonstop, and as s.h.i.+kamaru watched the spectacle, he concluded the new impression of dignity was because of Chouji’s goatee.

Lately, Chouji’s overall appearance had changed a bit.

The first thing that caught people’s eyes when they looked at him was the goatee. It wasn’t grown ridiculously long either, but kept nicely short and well maintained. That wasn’t all. Chouji’s hair had been cut a little shorter as well, and swept neatly back. It gave his overall appearance a clean, tidy, and composed look.

There was no doubt about it. It was the goatee. When you had that coupled with his hair and the other differences in his appearance, then Chouji looked like a respected adult, even to s.h.i.+kamaru who’d known him for years. That was why there was a new dignity to how Chouji looked when he ate as well.

“Maybe I should grow a goatee too…” s.h.i.+kamaru muttered as he leaned against the back of his chair.

“Eh? Why d’you wanna do that?” Chouji momentarily looked up from his frantic eating.

As much as he looked like he lost himself in his food, Chouji always listened carefully when s.h.i.+kamaru was talking. s.h.i.+kamaru recognised that fact, and kept talking,

“Unlike you, I look like I haven’t changed at all since I was a kid, don’t I?” s.h.i.+kamaru said, touching the ponytail on top of his head.

s.h.i.+kamaru had always kept his hair like this, ever since he was a kid. It was a simple ponytail, his long hair gathered and tied up above his head. It wasn’t that he had been determined to keep his hair like that or anything. It was just that for someone as inherently lazy as s.h.i.+kamaru, this was the easiest way to deal with his hair.

If you had to say he was determined on anything, then it was probably that he was determined to keep his hair and clothes as simple and easy as possible.

But then, it wasn’t like he was determined to struggle to keep things easy till the bitter end, or anything like that. So you couldn’t really say it was because he was determined for things to be easy, either. It just turned out that way because he didn’t really care.

s.h.i.+kamaru didn’t understand people who went to ridiculous lengths to change the way they looked, the kind who went to so much trouble to carefully pick out their clothes or put on airs. He thought the best kinds of clothes were those you could carelessly wear anywhere, anytime, the kind that let you comfortably watch clouds or take a nap.

When he was a kid, s.h.i.+kamaru used to think ‘if I could, I’d like to spend every day just sitting in front of the fire and watching the flames’.

A kid like that was clearly different than those who cared about what the world or society at large thought of them. So it wasn’t surprising that he usually didn’t concern himself with his hair or clothes.

But seeing his best friend of many years suddenly looking like such a dignified adult gave s.h.i.+kamaru something to think about.

s.h.i.+kamaru had been made a chuunin at quite a young age, and similarly gotten involved with a lot of jobs to do with the administration of the village. For example, he’d been made a supervising examiner of the chuunin exams, and that had him attending a lot of meetings about them, intervillage and otherwise, and in every single one of those meetings he’d naturally been surrounded by people who were older than him.

Since he found himself tasked with duties like that, s.h.i.+kamaru often found himself thinking ‘look at this like an adult’ or ‘be composed as an adult’ or ‘you have to be firm in your att.i.tude like an adult should’.

s.h.i.+kamaru already possessed every possible characteristic a.s.sociated with ‘behaving like an adult’, but at this moment it had suddenly occurred to him to compare himself, who hadn’t changed a bit in looks since he was young, to the mature looking Chouji in front of him. And that had resulted in s.h.i.+kamaru’s comment about getting a goatee.

“People always tell me ‘you haven’t changed at all’ when they see me…” s.h.i.+kamaru grumbled in complaint, still eating.

Chouji looked up and tilted his head in confusion.

“But, when they say that, they probably mean your hair right?” Chouji paused, looking down at his empty plate. “Ah, obachan, one more serving please!”

After calling out his order, Chouji wiped his mouth, and looked back at s.h.i.+kamaru. “If you ask me, you’ve changed a lot since old times.”

“Really?” s.h.i.+kamaru asked. “Do I look like an adult?”

“Yeah. Maybe it’s because you’ve come out of so many important s.h.i.+n.o.bi Union meetings. Compared to the old you, your face has really changed. I think you look a lot more steady and capable now. I’m the one who’s saying it, so it can’t be wrong.”

Chouji had given him a huge seal of approval.

“Ah, now that you mention it, a lot of people do tell me that I look like my old man.”

Maybe s.h.i.+kamaru himself hadn’t noticed it because he saw his face in the mirror every day.

But still, he couldn’t help but think that if he had a goatee he’d look a little more dignified…

s.h.i.+kamaru put a hand on his currently clean-shaved chin and kept thinking about the matter. As he did so, Chouji’s ordered serving of meat appeared.

It was a huge plate, but most people would be surprised to hear it wasn’t for the both of them. Forget the both of them, it was a serving just barely enough for Chouji. That usually surprised people too. But then, both the workers and regular customers here were used to Chouji’s eating habits by now, so n.o.body would be surprised.

When we all came here for the first time, we ordered this huge serving then too, didn’t we…

s.h.i.+kamaru’s thoughts went back to the time soon after he had become a genin.

His team had to celebrate here when their first mission had ended safely as well.

And after that, after the end of every mission, they often came to this restaurant.

The four of them would eat at this same table, and s.h.i.+kamaru would sit in this very seat.

Chouji was being yelled at by their teammate Ino.

“Hey?!” She yelled, “Chouji, you ate my meat!”

“Shut up…” s.h.i.+kamaru grumbled at the loud noise she was making.

It was a mistake. Ino immediately turned to glare at him. “What do you mean shut up? It’s my meat! Then are you saying you’re going to cook the meat?”

Now he’d become a target. This was outrageous.

“What is this?” s.h.i.+kamaru complained under his breath, putting meat on the grill. “Why am I the one who has to cook everything again? Ugh, troublesome…”

Why were women in general so pushy? s.h.i.+kamaru thought about the matter as he overturned the meat.

To start with, there was the woman closest to him: his mother. She was pus.h.i.+er than even normal women were, to an abnormal extent.

What in the world had made his old man look at such a frightening woman and think ‘I’m going to marry her’? s.h.i.+kamaru absolutely couldn’t understand it.

“This should be enough, right?”

The meat was just about cooked. At s.h.i.+kamaru’s comment, Ino reached out with her chopsticks, a satisfied air around her.

But the meat suddenly disappeared.

It wasn’t a supernatural phenomenon. It was Chouji. Ino threw down her chopsticks and started screaming.

“On purpose, right?!” She shrieked, “You’re doing this on purpose!”

“Huh- I just- I saw the meat, so…” Chouji stuttered.

“Don’t think you’re going to get out of this by making vague comments!”

Ino grabbed Chouji by the collar, still shouting. Bewildered as he was, Chouji still didn’t let go of his bowl or chopsticks. s.h.i.+kamaru grumbled that he was going to end up grilling the meat again anyway, and started putting more meat on the grill.

It was the usual scene for their team. And then…

There was a person happily watching over the three of them.

Asuma.

s.h.i.+kamaru came back to the present, and looked at the place Asuma once used to sit.

s.h.i.+kamaru, Chouji, Ino, and Asuma. The four of them used to come to this restaurant after every mission, and crowd around this table.

In the past, s.h.i.+kamaru had thought life would always continue like that.

It had been absurd to imagine everyone in a constant loop of youth, but somehow s.h.i.+kamaru’s past self had still thought that way. He hadn’t been able to imagine what he’d be like when he grew up.

But, time had pa.s.sed despite all that.

Ino had become more feminine. Chouji’s appet.i.te hadn’t changed, but he’d grown a beard. Even s.h.i.+kamaru had changed before he realised it. And Asuma…wasn’t here anymore.

The four of them couldn’t be together again.

This restaurant, this seat, everything was deeply dyed with the memories of those happy times that s.h.i.+kamaru couldn’t return to.

It was because he didn’t want to forget those memories that s.h.i.+kamaru kept stopping by the restaurant, even now.

When s.h.i.+kamaru was surrounded by the familiar fragrance of cooking meat, he could fall into the hallucination where that same smell of tobacco was hanging around as well.

Asuma had been an adult.

His goatee had always smelled of tobacco from all his countless cigarettes. No matter what the situation was, he had always been calm. Calm and easygoing.

Asuma had gone on many travels when he was young, so he had a lot of knowledge, and his skill as a s.h.i.+n.o.bi was even greater. He was like a father, and he was like an older brother. He’d always treat s.h.i.+kamaru and the team out to meat.

Come to think of it, he’d always slowly turn pale in the face of Chouji’s voracious appet.i.te, and frantically rummage around in his wallet to make sure he had enough.

Now, s.h.i.+kamaru and the rest paid for their meals out of their own wallets, with the money they’d earned by themselves.

s.h.i.+kamaru wondered if he’d been able to become an adult that was just a bit like Asuma.

s.h.i.+kamaru took the menu into his hand, turning the pages and calculating how much he and Chouji’s bill would come up to. It would be too expensive to treat him. If they split the tab, then he could comfortably afford it.

Oh man, I should eat a bit more while I can…

s.h.i.+kamaru eyed Chouji’s ferocious eating speed, and reached out for some meat of his own.

“…chomp, chomp, chomp…Obachan, another serving!” Chouji called out, his mouth full of chomp– no, er, beef.

Chouji eventually stopped eating, for the time being at least. He looked satisfied, gulping down a cup of oolong tea in one go. When he was certain Chouji had started breathing again, s.h.i.+kamaru spoke.

“So, about what we were talking about before, what are you gonna do?”

“Huh? Dessert?”

We never once talked about dessert, Chouji.

“…About Naruto and Hinata’s wedding presents.”

“Ohh, yeah, that.”

s.h.i.+kamaru sighed. Had Chouji forgotten?

In the first place, s.h.i.+kamaru had gone out onto the streets with the intention of buying a wedding present. He’d b.u.mped into Chouji by chance, and then they’d gotten to talking about what they should give.

s.h.i.+kamaru was still undecided on what he would give as a present. After all, he had to think of something that both Naruto and Hinata would be happy with, and he was coming up pretty blank.

s.h.i.+kamaru wasn’t just inexperienced with wedding presents, he was a stranger to the practice of giving gifts in general.

In that case, it would be best for him to talk to someone who didn’t neglect social frivolities like that. And while he was at it, it would be best to hear a woman’s opinion. Thus, s.h.i.+kamaru had gone to visit Ino.

Yamanaka Flowers. That was the name of the shop that Ino’s family ran.

When s.h.i.+kamaru went to talk to her about the matter, Ino had immediately started boasting that she’d already decided on her gift. As to be expected of Ino. She was very well informed when it came to the latest trends and fas.h.i.+ons.

As to be expected of a comrade from my team, s.h.i.+kamaru thought, and felt relieved.

“If that’s the case, then it’ll be fine if I buy something from the same store as you.” He said to Ino. “Can you tell me where it is?”

“Eh? You can’t copy the store. Forget it.”

And thus, even though they were comrades who had faced fatal battles together, s.h.i.+kamaru was immediately abandoned.

After that…

“I give up…” s.h.i.+kamaru had grumbled as he wandered around, surveying the village shops. He’d b.u.mped into Chouji at one of intersections, and found himself where he was now, at Yakiniku Q.

But apparently Chouji had forgotten the whole story in his meat-craze. Even now, he was eating some ice cream. When had Chouji ordered ice cream? s.h.i.+kamaru didn’t even try to figure it out. There were some things about Chouji that were beyond comprehension.

Honestly, when it came to the topic of finding a wedding present, Chouji’s opinion might not be as reliable as Ino’s.

However, where s.h.i.+kamaru was worried about the wedding present, Chouji was perfectly at ease.

“Actually, I’ve more or less decided…”

Chouji’s response was so unexpected that s.h.i.+kamaru shot up in his seat.

“You’ve really decided?! What’re you getting them?”

“Yeah.” Chouji said, slipping out a thin, rectangular piece of paper. “I’m thinking of giving this to them.”

Chouji slid the item across the table, and s.h.i.+kamaru picked it up so it wouldn’t get wet.

“This is…”

s.h.i.+kamaru couldn’t believe his eyes. This was a complimentary ticket for a meal to one of the most expensive Ryotei restaurants in Konoha.

“Young adults like us don’t usually go to places like that,” Chouji said, with a grin. “But since it’s a wedding gift, it works.”

It was exactly as Chouji said. This restaurant was extremely formal and extremely expensive, so many young adults didn’t usually go there. But a complimentary ticket for a meal there, as a wedding gift, was a thing of pure brilliance.

It was a chance for the couple to go somewhere they didn’t go often, and it was a thoughtful wedding gift that they would both enjoy. There couldn’t possibly be another wedding gift as thoughtful as this.

But while it might have been an amazing wedding present, how could Chouji so easily let of a meal, and a high cla.s.s one at that?

Chouji, are you really the same guy I knew…? You’ve really become far more of an adult than I’d ever realised.

s.h.i.+kamaru was staring in turns at the elegant ticket in his hands, and then to Chouji’s face as he happily ate his ice cream. He was dumbfounded.

Chouji continued eating his ice cream without being aware of his friend’s staring. Soon enough, he’d started on a second bowl.

“Plus, it came with such good timing,” Chouji said as he licked. “That meal for three…”

At first, s.h.i.+kamaru didn’t understand the meaning behind what Chouji had said. A moment pa.s.sed, and comprehension dawned. Sweat appeared on s.h.i.+kamaru’s forehead.

“You couldn’t possibly…” s.h.i.+kamaru meekly asked, feeling shocked for a completely different reason. “You’re not going to….eat…with them…?”

Chouji looked up from his ice cream with a great laugh. “No way. Even if it’s me, I’m not about to intrude on a meal between two newly-weds.”

“R- right…yeah, that would be….”

“I’m going to ask a favour from the owner, and eat at a separate table.”

“…Seriously?”

Without thought, s.h.i.+kamaru looked up at the ceiling. The ceiling fan was spinning around without stop as always.

The ceiling fan that continued to steadily spin around in silence. Chouji, who continued to quietly but determinedly eat his ice cream.

Soon, lunchtime had already pa.s.sed, and the customers in the restaurant became spa.r.s.e. Peace had returned again to Yakiniku Q.

Listening to the faint sound of the whirling ceiling fan in the now quiet store, s.h.i.+kamaru continued worrying by himself.

A complimentary high cla.s.s meal.

That was the present Chouji had prepared. It definitely didn’t have any bad sides to it.

But…

While it might not have had its bad side, why in the world was it for three people? That ryotei restaurant should’ve thought about how frequently couples would want to go and be alone, lovers with no interruptions. Had that ryotei no sense? If it was three people, then of course Chouji would end up going…!

s.h.i.+kamaru inwardly criticised the policies of a restaurant he’d never been to with a sour look on his face.

His mind imagined Naruto and Hinata getting a little dressed up for the uncommon chance to eat at a high cla.s.s ryotei restaurant.

And, then, in the seat behind them. Chouji. Ordering a second serving of his food as he attentively watched over them.

…would that really work out okay…?

No, right now, Chouji was fine as he was. In a way, it was a very Chouji-esque gift. Right now, the bigger problem was s.h.i.+kamaru himself, who’d still yet to think of anything. He had to devote his thinking process to coming up with something.

s.h.i.+kamaru straightened in his seat, and silently closed his eyes.

Whenever s.h.i.+kamaru was thinking deeply about something –for example, his next move in his favourite game of shougi, or a complicated strategy in the middle of a mission– he had the habit of sitting in a certain way as he thought. He didn’t purposely try to get into that position. It happened naturally. It was the position that he could think best in.

On that note, n.o.body would’ve ever expected s.h.i.+kamaru to end up resorting to his thinking position in the middle of Yakiniku Q. He himself hadn’t even expected that things would come to this.

s.h.i.+kamaru gathered his thoughts inside his head. Something that would be suitable as wedding present…several possibilities and options floated across his mind.

First off, it would be best if the gift was something practical and helpful. Kitchen appliances, or cookware. A good present would be something that the couple didn’t already own.

Dinnerware was popular lately, wasn’t it? Matching bowls for a couple to use were a good possible option.

Watches maybe, or a picture frame for the wedding photos, too. They seemed to fit the standard. Presents that could serve as happy memories of their wedding were good. But they also had to be presents that would hold interest to both of them.

Either way, he couldn’t get the same present as another person. After all, Ino had kicked up such a fuss over even getting something from the same shop, so getting the same present as someone else was logically just as bad, if not worse.

The wedding was soon, so maybe getting a large bouquet would work as a gift? In its own way, it was a very wedding-gift-like thing.

There was also the option of getting them foodstuff. High cla.s.s ingredients, like pastries or tea, those would be happily received wouldn’t they? But then that seemed like it would end up being similar to Chouji’s gift of a high cla.s.s meal.

But no, honestly it would be fine if he ended up giving them a gift certificate of some kind like Chouji had, wouldn’t it? He could earn a gift certificate from a department store. He’d just have to buy enough things that he liked, and it would be easy to choose things he liked… But then how would he afford buying enough to earn a gift certificate…Money was…money…

s.h.i.+kamaru slowly opened his eyes. Chouji was still eating ice cream.

What to do…

At the end, one word had come to float pragmatically at the front of his mind: money.

It was a good angle to focus on. Rather than getting the couple something they couldn’t use, or something that was similar to someone else’s gift, it was far better to give them money to spend on anything they liked.

But then, there was the thought of how it would look if everyone else gave Naruto and Hinata gifts, and then s.h.i.+kamaru just went ‘here you go’ with an envelope of money.

Since it’s me, then they’d probably think that I thought shopping for a gift was too troublesome, and resorted to giving money out of laziness, wouldn’t they…?

He was worried about that possibility.

In reality, it was likely that n.o.body would think such a thing. But honestly, giving money was an incredibly wearisome gift choice. It felt like it didn’t have any sincerity.

It would’ve been okay to give it to someone I barely knew, but to them…it wouldn’t be okay, would it?

s.h.i.+kamaru was still worrying without an end. Similarly, Chouji was still eating without an end.

“You’ve eaten a lot.” s.h.i.+kamaru suddenly noted the countless bowls of ice cream piled up in front of Chouji. “You don’t feel cold at all?”

“It feels nice and cool after eating all that hot barbecue. Plus, I’m the kind of guy who’ll be travelling in Snow Country and still go and buy ice cream to eat. My appet.i.te doesn’t lose to the cold.” Chouji grinned at his friend, and as he finished his latest bowl, finally seemed content. “Gochisousama*.”

Wait. Wait a minute. Now. Just now, something had sparked inside s.h.i.+kamaru’s head.

“Chouji…what did you just say?”

“Huh? Well, I said gochisousama…”

“No. Before that. About travelling in Snow Country.”

“Ah, yeah, I said I’d still eat ice cream even if I was travelling in Snow Country. But you know I was just giving an example?”

“That’s it.” s.h.i.+kamaru looked delighted as he pointed at Chouji. “Travelling. A trip. That’s good, isn’t it? A trip for their honeymoon…!”

s.h.i.+kamaru and Chouji left Yakiniku Q without any particular next destination in mind. They were just aimlessly walking around. It didn’t matter if they did or didn’t have a goal in mind. s.h.i.+kamaru was finally free of his worries on what to get.

“I get it, you’re going to give Hinata and Naruto a honeymoon trip as a gift, right?”

“Yeah, Chouji. Thanks to you, I finally thought up a good idea.”

Now, all s.h.i.+kamaru had to do was select the destination. Then, go and give it the once over to make sure everything was of good quality.

Ah. He was going to have to ask for a woman’s opinion again, wasn’t he?

Where would he be able to find Ino? According to what she’d said when he visited her earlier about thinking of a gift, she would probably be on her way to buy her wedding gift…

As he and Chouji walked around, s.h.i.+kamaru started glancing around storefronts.

“Are you looking for someone, s.h.i.+kamaru? I can help.”

“Yeah, I want to hear a woman’s opinion. It’d be good if Ino was around.”

That being said, Konoha was a huge city.

The fact that s.h.i.+kamaru and Chouji had managed to meet up while just walking around without the same destination in mind had been a great coincidence. If they now managed to b.u.mp into Ino, then it’d be a coincidence on top of a coincidence for all of Team 10’s combo, the Ino-s.h.i.+ka-Chou to be gathered in one spot.

The chances of them b.u.mping into each other without any communication beforehand were, obviously, pretty much zero to none. Even if such a coincidental gathering of friends had happened in a fictional play or movie, the audience would have criticised it severely, calling it an series of impossible coincidences.

Just as s.h.i.+kamaru thought that, Chouji let out a murmur.

“Oh, look who’s here.”

“You’re kidding me right?!” s.h.i.+kamaru’s voice rose to a hysteric volume in his surprise.

Reality was indeed an amazing thing. Surprising coincidences that seemed to come out of novels, like randomly meeting teammates, happened all the time.

However, the sight that greeted s.h.i.+kamaru after he let out his yell of surprise was a coincidence that was going to stun him even more.

s.h.i.+kamaru’s line of sight had him looking at the back of a woman’s head. Her hair didn’t reach down to her knees like his teammate’s did. This woman’s hair was somewhat short, and tied into two bundles. She was a completely different person, and the sight of her made s.h.i.+kamaru’s eyes widen despite himself.

The woman in front of them was a jounin from Konoha’s ally Sunagakure…Temari.

Many people were always coming and going from Konoha, not just s.h.i.+n.o.bi from other villages like Temari. There were s.h.i.+n.o.bi coming to receive missions, s.h.i.+n.o.bi returning from missions, clients who gave missions, and a great more variety of people. There was a continuous stream of visitors coming and going.

Of course, that didn’t mean just anyone could come in. Those at the village gates always kept an eye out for suspicious looking people or dangerous objects, inspecting and questioning visitors.

Temari, for example, was a s.h.i.+n.o.bi from another village who carried a large tessen on her back. It was her favourite weapon of choice, a war fan that let her create a devastating gust of wind with one swing.

But dangerous as her weapon was, Temari was a s.h.i.+n.o.bi from an allied village, and there had been years of trust and cooperation between her and Konoha, so she was naturally given a permit to bring her tessen within the city limits. She’d also easily pa.s.sed through the interview to get a visitor’s pa.s.s, and had been issued one a long time ago.

This very same Temari now turned around at s.h.i.+kamaru’s surprised yell, and noticed the two. Her eyes met s.h.i.+kamaru’s.

“What, so it’s you who yelled. What’re you doing?”

s.h.i.+kamaru had let out such a hysteric yell because he’d been surprised at the coincidence of Chouji supposedly finding Ino.

Now, he did his best to answer Temari’s question in a serene, unruffled tone, despite how the insides of his heart felt like they were jittering.

“O-oh yeah. We were just eating lunch and then… well, that aside, what’re you…?”

“I’m going around giving my greetings prior to the Chuunin Exam meetings.”

“Chuunin exams? We still have a way to go until they start, don’t we?”

“Well, you could say that this year we’re having meetings about the meetings.” Temari gave a wry smile. She had a lot of troublesome duties to carry out.

Temari was the Yondaime Kazekage’s daughter, and the current G.o.daime Kazekage’s elder sister. She was a sharp and capable person who aided her younger brother with her flouris.h.i.+ng activities in diplomacy with other villages. Like today, she would casually come and go from Konoha to partic.i.p.ate in meetings planning for the Chuunin Exams.

s.h.i.+kamaru drew a little closer to Chouji so Temari wouldn’t hear, and hissed into his ear.

“Oi, Chouji! Why’d you go and say ‘look who’s here’? I thought it was definitely Ino and…”

“But if you need a woman’s opinion, it doesn’t really matter even if it isn’t Ino…”

“Th-that’s true, but…” s.h.i.+kamaru glanced back at Temari.

Temari was the best wind user in Sunagakure. No, she was probably the best wind user in the whole world of s.h.i.+n.o.bi, or if not, second. She stood out for her accomplishments in diplomacy and rearing s.h.i.+n.o.bi in non-combatant areas, but her personality was militant. She was audacious and bold at heart, and generally suited to the battlefield with her belligerent att.i.tude.

It was likely because her personality was like that that she did so well in politics, but would it really be okay to ask Temari, a woman who woke gale after gale to do away with enemies on the battlefield, her opinion on a honeymoon for Naruto and Hinata? Her personality was completely different from Hinata’s.

Temari was strong-willed and constantly looking after others, and both those qualities made her the same type of woman as s.h.i.+kamaru’s mother. It wasn’t likely that she would think of something that someone meek like Hinata would like.

On that note, Ino’s personality was different from Hinata’s too. But, Ino had been cla.s.smates with Naruto and Hinata since childhood, so consulting with her seemed easier.

Ino would probably gladly give a consultation about Naruto and Hinata’s honeymoon. She was the type to point out all the latest trends and all.

But Temari’s reaction to being asked to consult, that was something s.h.i.+kamaru couldn’t imagine.

“What, a honeymoon?” Temari said, her eyes losing their warmth as she looked disdainfully at him. “You’re sure asking me about something pointless.”

That was the only reaction that was coming to s.h.i.+kamaru’s mind.

“What’re you two sneaking around for?” Temari had a doubtful look on her face. “You look suspicious.”

He quickly had to somehow mend the situation but–

“s.h.i.+kamaru wants to ask you about something.”

But Chouji acted first.

“Well…you…” s.h.i.+kamaru got fl.u.s.tered as Temari turned her gaze to him.

He couldn’t possibly say something like ‘it would be unreasonable of me if I asked you about planning a honeymoon, right?’. There was no choice but to be frank about it.

“Well, that’s, I mean…” He kept stuttering.

For some reason, he’d gotten tense. s.h.i.+kamaru felt strangely embarra.s.sed. He couldn’t even look Temari in the eyes. Finally, he blurted out:

“…I’ve been thinking about it, but, for a honeymoon, where do you think is good?”

“Eh?!” Temari let out an incredibly stunned sound.

“What?!” Startled himself at her reaction, s.h.i.+kamaru could look her in the face now, staring.

“You- tha- ho- honeymoon…?!”

Temari wouldn’t look at him.

See, he’d been right after all, asking her was rude. Of course Temari would be troubled if he asked her to help with picking Naruto and Hinata’s wedding gift. Even s.h.i.+kamaru had been having trouble with it, and he was their cla.s.smate…

Ugh, Chouji, you shouldn’t have meddled. s.h.i.+kamaru glared at the man with several grudging comments on his tongue. Chouji pretended not to notice and averted his gaze to look in a shop window.

While glaring unpleasantly towards the man, s.h.i.+kamaru tried to switch the situation around.

The end result was that the damage was already done, so he might as well hear her opinion.

“Sorry.” s.h.i.+kamaru apologised. “I know it’s unexpected, but I want to hear your thoughts.”

“Wh- why ask about th- that to me?” Temari looked incredibly bewildered and fl.u.s.tered. It was perfectly understandable.

“Well, I guess because I thought asking you would be best…”

Well, he couldn’t say ‘anyone would do as long as they’re a woman’ when she looked like she was seriously considering it. That would be incredibly rude. Even s.h.i.+kamaru knew that.

“A-asking me would be best…” She said.

For some reason, Temari was looking down and uneasily fidgeting. s.h.i.+kamaru was convinced it was because she was troubled by the question. This wasn’t good. At this rate, there would be no progress. It would be best to offer his opinion first.

“I think it’d be good to relax at a hot spring inn, but what do you think? It doesn’t sound too old fas.h.i.+oned?”

“I…it seems fine…”

“Alright, great. I’m glad. An inn by the hot springs with good food is the best, huh.”

Temari had approved his idea. s.h.i.+kamaru could feel all his worry draining away. He’d been worrying all morning, and now he finally gave a relieved smile. It would be a fine wedding present for Naruto and Hinata.

Temari, on the other hand, looked like her composure had been disturbed.

“Don’t tell me you still have some business to take care of…?” He asked.

That was likely it. Temari had come here on business after all. She was probably bothered because he’d kept her busy with this consultation.

“Ah, no, I’m done for today… I was about to go home.”

“…?”

She didn’t have any duties to carry out, but she was restless. s.h.i.+kamaru tilted his head, confused at her response. Temari was acting odd today. What could be causing it…?

“It’d be best to check out some inns later, right?” Chouji suggested, and s.h.i.+kamaru pulled himself out of those thoughts to concentrate back on the gift problem.

“That’s right.” s.h.i.+kamaru nodded. “It’d be best to go and take a good look as soon as possible.”

“It’s still pretty early, so even going today would work, right?”

“Yeah. It’d probably be best to do that.”

“Then,” Chouji said, “I’m going to head off to eat some sweet chestnuts, so you two should go check it out.”

“Eh?!” s.h.i.+kamaru and Temari both exclaimed at the same time.

Fl.u.s.tered, s.h.i.+kamaru looked at his friend.

“Cho- Chouji…! What do you mean you’re not coming with…?!”

“Mmm, sorry s.h.i.+kamaru. I have to eat dessert after meals.”

“You just ate!”

“I have separate room for dessert.”

“I’m telling you, you just ate dessert!”

As they kept exchanging retorts, s.h.i.+kamaru glanced at Temari. She was probably angry at Chouji’s sudden selfish behaviour too, because her face was slowly turning bright red.

Oi, oi, oi, this isn’t the time for jokes. Chouji, change your mind. Women aren’t to be made angry, it will always end up turning into a troublesome situation, I learned that way back when I was a kid!

s.h.i.+kamaru was desperately trying to communicate these pleas with his eyes, but Chouji wouldn’t change his mind.

“You’re checking it out for a honeymoon, so it’d be better if you two went by yourselves.”

Chouji said such a thing with a wide grin.

It was too reasonable for s.h.i.+kamaru to argue against. Anyone would agree that it would make more sense for a man and woman to go check out an inn beforehand, rather than two men. That way, you got both the bride and groom’s point of view.

But, right now, with Temari reacting in ways s.h.i.+kamaru didn’t understand, and her face looking bright red with what had to be rage, going alone with her would be…

s.h.i.+kamaru felt his face drain of colour.

“Well then, I’ll see you two later.” Chouji said, starting to walk. “I’m heading off.”

“Ah…” By the time s.h.i.+kamaru could make a sound, it was too late.

Chouji merely glanced over his shoulder at his friend, waved a hand, and then disappeared into the crowd.

s.h.i.+kamaru had gone completely and utterly still in utter dumbfoundment.

Why Chouji…? Why did you want to eat sweet chestnuts that much…? Even though you ate that much ice cream, why…? Does your stomach hold no end…?

Those were the thoughts streaming through his numb, stunned mind.

Even though the streets of Konoha were always bustling with activity, the place where s.h.i.+kamaru and Temari stood seemed strangely inactive. It was almost like they had a barrier around them. They were both wrapped up in a dense silence.

s.h.i.+kamaru was too frightened to look Temari in the eyes.

“Uh…” His mouth moved despite himself. “How should I…what do you want to do…?”

Those were the words that came out of his mouth.

I’m an idiot.

But, just then…

s.h.i.+kamaru felt an abrupt tug on his sleeve.

“…I’ll go.” Temari quietly said, not looking at him.

How did the atmosphere get like this?

In a short while, s.h.i.+kamaru and Temari had made their way to where Konoha’s hot spring town was.

On the way, they hadn’t talked much.

s.h.i.+kamaru had tried to bring up small talk to see how she’d react, but Temari’s replies had been short and curt, and the unsettling atmosphere between them had continued.

Why is there such a puzzling tension…?

s.h.i.+kamaru averted his eyes to look ahead so he wasn’t meeting the huntress’–no, Temari’s eyes, feeling sweat perspiring against his forehead. He tried to objectively, and calmly a.n.a.lyse the situation.

To start with, it wasn’t unusual for him and Temari to be alone together.

Rather, it was common. In the past, he had guided her around the village, and they’d eaten together along with having meetings about work. There was even the fact that he’d gone outside his usual behaviour and asked her on a date.

Well, he said date, but in the end they’d done what they always did, talking about light things, and then next thing he knew ending up talking about work without him noticing.** But, at that time, things hadn’t been as tense as they were now. Far from it, the whole day of their date hadn’t been bad at all.

Despite all that, why were things so tense today? Why did the atmosphere feel so strained? Why wasn’t Temari talking to him?

s.h.i.+kamaru desperately wracked his brain for answers.

The most likely cause was that deep down, Temari was fed up of being dragged into a troublesome matter. He’d prompted her about her plans for the rest of the day, and after saying she had none, there had been no way for her to politely refuse to come, so now she was irritated at the trouble she had to go through. That was why things were different today. That was why she wasn’t talking much.

But, if you looked at the root, this was all Chouji’s fault. Chouji and his stomach’s sudden, unexplained craving for sweet chestnuts. And moreover, it was Chouji’s fault for bringing up the meddlesome suggestion ‘it would be best for you two to go together’ and then disappearing. If he hadn’t done those things, then at this time he and s.h.i.+kamaru, or just s.h.i.+kamaru himself, would’ve been doing the check up on a random inn.

I’d never thought things would turn out with me coming here with Temari…

It was a turn of events he’d never have been able to imagine happening this morning. He’d never thought he’d eat yakiniku with Chouji, and then b.u.mp into Temari, and then end up in this situation.

There might’ve been that saying about how “s.h.i.+n.o.bi should look underneath the underneath” but this wasn’t something anyone could’ve seen coming. Good grief, the world was beyond predicting.

While s.h.i.+kamaru brooded, he and Temari crossed over a wooden bridge. There was a river streaming beneath it, with a light layer of steam rising from it. It was river from a hot spring. There was a slightly cloying smell to the water, kind of similar to eggs. It was the hydrogen sulphide that was blended into the hot spring water.

The source was the volcanic belt Konoha was located atop of. A good large quant.i.ty of hot springs were present in this area, so much that in the old days the hot springs had been known as a healing area for injured s.h.i.+n.o.bi. Now it was a tourist hot spot for attracting people from and outside the village.

They were pa.s.sing a lot of such tourists as they travelled.

Most of the tourists were usually dressed in yukata, with geta wooden sandals or leather soled sandals, and clothing that had the name of the inn or inst.i.tute they were staying at. That seemed to be the general dress code of the town. It was good for visiting the hot springs, or just walking around.

Health and entertainment. The town had obviously developed by combining those two things, and many things other than inns could be found. Restaurants, game centres, souvenir shops, and various other shops were lined up all around. Another enjoyable side to this town would be just walking around and visiting all of them.

s.h.i.+kamaru and Temari had pa.s.sed by a lot of such stores. Most of the storefronts had wicker baskets where meat dumplings that had been cooked with the steam of the hot springs sat in rows, looking nice and pretty. Souvenir shops had postcards and wooden carvings aimed at tourists, along with s.h.i.+n.o.bi goods. Here and there, you could see bags and bottles that were stuffed with hot spring mineral deposits as well. The hot springs were a truly valuable source of income for the town.

s.h.i.+kamaru was looking for an inn to check out amidst all the establishments. The sun was already setting in the west, and in a short time, night had fallen.

The lanterns in front of the stores and buildings started to light up, one by one. Their lights were the only illuminations in the town after the dark had fallen, and the sight of all those brightly lit lanterns amidst the darkness and wisps of steam that enshrouded the town was pretty breathtaking.

“It looks amazing…” Temari murmured.

“Yeah…” s.h.i.+kamaru quietly agreed. Then, he turned to her. “…Hey, we took all the trouble to come here, so how about we drop by the town shops?”

Temari had finally spoken of her own volition when she’d commented on the scenery. The town’s beautiful scenery seemed to have eased away the tension, and s.h.i.+kamaru wanted to take advantage of that. They’d taken all the trouble to come here, after all. They weren’t about to get punished from above for dropping by a store or two.

“You’re right.” Temari said, looking around. “Then…how about that shop?”

The shop she was pointing to was a small one, with a sign that said ‘target practice’ at the front. It looked like the sort of place that had three wooden kunai for you to throw and hit several prizes on shelves, and if you could knock a prize over, then you could have it.

“You sure you’re fine with that?” He asked.

“Yeah. I wanted to try that kind of thing just once.”

I don’t really understand, but it looks like her spirits are back to normal…

Temari’s eyes were s.h.i.+ning as she ducked under the wooden sign in front of the shop’s entrance, and s.h.i.+kamaru felt relieved at the sight of her. He followed her in.

The inside of the shop was surprisingly crowded.

Pa.s.sing his eye over the other customers, they were likely mostly lovers, a lot of young men and women. For some reason, s.h.i.+kamaru was unable to feel calm.

Temari had already picked up a wooden kunai and thrown it. It barely grazed the side of the targeted prize, slipping away into the darkness behind it. She picked up another one, and threw once more. This time, her aim was off much more, not even coming close.

“Hm?” Temari was tilting her head in puzzlement.

“Oi, oi, what’s up?” He asked. “It’s rare for you to miss a target.”

Forget playing target games, both s.h.i.+kamaru and Temari handled kunai in their usual everyday lives. And furthermore, those were real ones. It was impossible for her to miss twice.

“No, the thing is, they’re too light to throw well.” Temari said, handing the wooden kunai to him.

Ah, I see. They are way too light. Far more different than the usual ones. It’d be hard to throw this.

s.h.i.+kamaru understood the second he felt the wooden kunai’s light weight in his hand.

“But, if that’s the problem,” s.h.i.+kamaru said, handling the wooden kunai, “Then if you just find the centre of gravity and adjust, you should be able to throw it, like this!”

He threw the wooden kunai. He threw it with much more force than he did his usual kunai.

It missed completely.

“Hm?”

Now s.h.i.+kamaru was tilting his head in puzzlement, too.

After their target practice had ended, the two of them were back to searching for the inn.

Temari was carrying one small daruma, and another equally small cat figurine. They were the only two prizes that s.h.i.+kamaru had managed to drop after he had paid his own way through several more tries.

But to think that after all those attempts, only these two tiny prizes were gained. s.h.i.+kamaru couldn’t help but feel like that cost-effectiveness of that shop was in question.

But, s.h.i.+kamaru was still a pro. Throwing the wooden kunai again and again had helped him get use to the weight. Even with all the practice, those wooden kunai were unbelievably tricky. You couldn’t possibly hope to practice enough to hit a big prize without paying a big amount of money too. s.h.i.+kamaru had realised that very quickly. No, in fact, you could spend as much money on practice as you wanted, and it would probably still be impossible to hit the big prizes.

s.h.i.+kamaru felt sorry for all the couples at the shop he’d seen, letting out sounds like ‘kyaa!’ and ‘awww’ as they aimed at prizes they were never going to be able to hit.

If they’d just been a little heavier…well, to sum it up, the wooden kunai were so far from real kunai that it was almost impossible to knock over anything with them.

If possible, s.h.i.+kamaru would have liked to throw a real kunai.

At the shopkeeper.

But either way, seeing as he wasn’t allowed to use a real kunai, he’d thought it would be better to hit what he could rather than to keep aiming for the impossible and go away with nothing.

‘What he could’ being the small daruma and cat figurine***. They had been the smallest prizes in the shop. Their loss wasn’t any great blow to the shopkeeper’s stock. The shopkeeper really had a brilliant strategy.

“Sorry…” He said to Temari, “I couldn’t get anything other than those…”

Speaking of which, it’d be really bad if he’d gotten so used to throwing the light wooden kunai that his aim with real kunai got affected.

“Heh, they’re the perfect size for carrying back home.” Temari replied with a grin.

She wasn’t being sarcastic. Those were her honest feelings. Every now and then, Temari had times she smiled innocently like this.

“These’ll be great souvenirs for my brothers.” She said.

Come to think of it, she was right. The number of prizes was just right. But, that brought up the question…between Gaara and Kankurou, who would be given the daruma and who would be given the cat figurine? He wasn’t sure, but either way, it’d be something to smile at if you saw it.

Temari always did think about her brothers.

Temari was humming something under her breath as she looked at the prizes in her hands. She looked like she was in a good mood.

“Alright then…we should get around to picking an inn, right?” s.h.i.+kamaru said. “Oh, how about here?”

s.h.i.+kamaru had come to a standstill, looking up at a nearby inn. It was magnificently structured, with a very historic feeling. The paper lanterns glowing faintly at the sides of its gates felt like they were giving a gentle welcome to guests. It looked like they had a pretty large pond too.

From the outside, everything looked fine, but the main focus of their visit was the hot springs and the meals. It’d be a problem if everything just looked decent but was actually bad quality.

“Yup, best to go in and have a look.” s.h.i.+kamaru nodded. Just one quick overall a.s.sessment would be enough.

He turned to go towards the inn, but at that exact moment, Temari’s footsteps stopped.

“What’s wrong?” He looked over his shoulder to check on her.

“Ah– well– after all– how to say this…” Temari was looking down and uneasily fidgeting.

Again? Just when he’d thought that the usual Temari had returned. What in the world was going on?

“So it’s just– at the end– I’m not yet– I’m not mentally prepared…” She muttered, not looking at him and fiddling with the daruma and cat figurine in her hands.

Mentally prepared? For what?

Maybe she felt awkward in front of such a fancy looking place?

If such a high cla.s.s place had prices that were too high for him to afford, then of course s.h.i.+kamaru was going to give up. He’d think it was a shame, but he would. But they wouldn’t ever know without going in and checking the place out. Whether his decision would be to go for it or pa.s.s, he’d still have to look at the rooms and hot springs. He had no way to work around it. It was going to be a problem if they just gave up right in front of the place’s doors.

“Temari, for now how about we just go in, and then you can think about it. Okay?”

“I– it’ll be too late to think about once we go in. I could get carried away with the atmosphere, so…”

“What do you mean?!”

He absolutely couldn’t understand what Temari was saying. s.h.i.+kamaru was at his wits’ end.

What on the world was going on? The atmosphere? Did she mean the old-fas.h.i.+oned atmosphere of the inn? Carried away? Swept away? Was she talking about the pond? He didn’t understand a thing.

However, he knew one thing for a fact:

There’s definitely something wrong with Temari today.

s.h.i.+kamaru looked carefully at Temari’s face, staring as he gave her a once over. Temari hurriedly looked away from his gaze. As she did, her face was turning bright red.

“You…” s.h.i.+kamaru slowly said. “Don’t tell me you…”

He put his hand on Temari’s forehead. She let out a startled sound, her whole body s.h.i.+vering with a jolt. It was probably because his hand was cold.

“You’re burning up, aren’t you?” He asked.

Temari’s forehead felt slightly warm. But, it didn’t look like a fever. On the other hand, she had turned bright red up to her ears.

“I– I’m heading home, so…” She stiffly said, awkwardly moving away and turning to go back.

She was clearly acting completely different than usual. For the usual lively Temari to suddenly be so frail-like, it had to mean that while she may not have had a fever, there was something wrong with her health. There wasn’t any other explanation.

“Oi, oi, do me a favour and wait. It’s already dark out, and if your physical condition is bad then that’s all the more reason you should rest here for just one night. It’s alright. I’ll quickly set out the futon for you.”

s.h.i.+kamaru had said that because he was worried about Temari, but it looked like he’d said something he shouldn’t have, because Temari suddenly started running away from him at full power.

s.h.i.+kamaru stared, dumbfounded, at the sight of her running full throttle.

Well, at least her health seemed fine after all. But wait, he had to catch up to her!

s.h.i.+kamaru started running, too.

He’d finally been able to come all this way with her, if they went back right at the doors of the inn, then there’d have been no point. He absolutely had to get Temari’s advice on what would make for a better honeymoon trip.

After all, it wasn’t just for Naruto, it was for Hinata too. Just a man’s point of view wouldn’t be enough. He had to have a woman’s point of view. He had to hear the opinion on the women’s side of the spa, on the yukatas, on the service given to women, all sorts of things that a man couldn’t judge on his own.

s.h.i.+kamaru put his full concentration into chasing after Temari’s back. He reached out to catch her with a hand.

This isn’t gonna work if I’m by myself, this isn’t gonna work by myself…!

s.h.i.+kamaru’s hand reached its mark. He’d managed to catch Temari by the arm.

Tightening his hold on her, s.h.i.+kamaru yelled, “Please just wait! I need you!”

Temari had forcibly come to a stop, and now looked over her shoulder at him. For some reason, her eyes looked a bit wet.

They were both panting, totally out of breath. The dim lit of nearby lanterns illuminated their faces slightly, s.h.i.+kamaru’s shadow falling on Temari.

Maybe she’d calmed down, because her face wasn’t red anymore.

The light given off by the lanterns illuminated Temari’s face, which looked even more mature than usual.

s.h.i.+kamaru unconsciously ended up gazing at her.

He was enveloped in a mysterious feeling. Like being in the middle of a dream.

“Is it really alright…if it’s me…?” Temari quietly asked.

Those words pulled s.h.i.+kamaru abruptly back to his senses, and he gathered his wits again. He nodded firmly.

“Yeah, it won’t do if it’s not you!” He said seriously, “After all, I can’t go into the women’s side of the hot spring!”

“…ha?” For a brief moment, Temari’s jaw dropped. “Uhm…? What are you…saying…?”

s.h.i.+kamaru was bewildered by the look she was giving him, like she was suddenly suspicious of him. It was a strange reaction to his reply. But for now, it was best to verify what they both were thinking.

“No matter how you look at it, I won’t be able to go to the women’s side of the hot springs, right?”

“Obviously!” She sounded a little indignant. “What are you suddenly…”

She was well-aware of the situation, good. As expected of Temari.

In that case,

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