"I see you're doing well!"
Karin's cheerful, annoyingly merry voice cut through our muffled breathing.
Ino let out a startled squeak, then pulled away. Her face burned a bright red, which I'm sure was nowhere less than mine. Her startled eyes found Karin, then turned to me.
I could even see the calculation running behind those eyes. The result wasn't what I expected.
Ino quickly pulled me into another hug, kissed me again. "Come to my house for lunch?"
"Yes," I breathed out.
She gave me a few more pecks before she turned around and left, not looking in Karin's direction.
And Karin… just giggled at the entire scene. Her cheeks were a pretty shade of rosy.
I moved away from the wall, patted my clothes to remove the wrinkles. Pretend I didn't see Karin approaching. Pretend I didn't notice her hugging me, burying her face in my shoulder.
Of course, I hugged her back; I liked Karin.
"I'm so glad you're okay," she sniffled.
"I'm sorry for worrying you."
Karin pulled away, hands on my shoulders. She smiled, that same wicked grin she always wore before a prank, but this time, her eyes didn't match it. She leaned in and gave me a peck on the lips.
"I won't forgive you if you do," she said, sticking her tongue at me, then she released me and fled toward our bedroom.
Everything that happened surprised me so much I didn't react. What had just happened? Was Karin… trying to add me to her harem?
Karin was busy that morning with some mission or another. After our team disbanded, she had joined a team of genins, doing D and C ranks in and around the village.
With my forced break, I wasn't sure what to do, exactly. For now, I just took a very long, freezing bath, trying to think about what was happening. First, Ino. It seemed the cat was out of the bag. Did that mean we were dating now? She invited me to her house, and the only thing I could think of was to talk with her family. Open girlfriends?
Even freezing water couldn't rinse the smile off my face.
Then there was Karin. I mean, that was a prank, right? I… wasn't sure if I could one up her on that one. How the hell was Karin expecting me to pull a fast one after that? There was no way I'd go down that route.
There lay sadness and drama and angst.
Yep, I'd pretend nothing happened. If she ever mentioned it again, then we could talk about… stuff.
I got out of the bath. My skin had that bluish tinge to it, my fingers all wrinkly. I guess I exaggerated the cold water.
Trying to find clothes to wear wasn't the easiest thing. My shinobi gear, usually made to fit, was too small for me now. I had grown a bit, and the clothing was too uncomfortable to wear. I'd need to talk with the clothes store Obaa-chan to make more for me.
Dressed in normal civilian clothes, shorts, a yellow shirt and wearing slippers, I went to the kitchen. I had a few hours until lunch at Ino's house. Maybe bake a few cupcakes?
Some merciful soul, and here I'm guessing Karin, kept a few ingredients in the pantry. It wasn't anywhere near what I was used to having access to, but more than enough for some simple baking. I washed my hands, pulled on my sleeves and got to work!
I sat at the table with Ino and Inoichi, trying to hide my face from second hand embarrassment. The Yamanaka Matriarch wasn't here. I don't know if that's why Ino invited me for lunch or not.
Lunch had been simple.
Ino cooked rice, pickled veggies and grilled fish and even that rolled sweet omelet. It was delicious. We ate, we talked, Inoichi teased Ino even more. It was fun; I liked it very much. The problem started after lunch, when I took out the cupcakes I had baked.
Like a starved beast, Ino attacked me, grabbing the pastries. I had expected her to devour the things, given her ferocity, but she took small nibbles, all the while letting out moans of food pleasure or giggling like a loony.
Even Inoichi looked embarrassed. That didn't prevent him from eating a few of the cupcakes, anyway.
Once lunch was over, Ino led me to the living room, where Inoichi had sat. She pushed me onto the couch, and instead of sitting by my side, she plopped herself on my lap, shooting a defiant glare at her dad.
The premier mind ninja looked between his daughter and me. His face was serious, almost scary.
"If you ever hurt my daughter…"
He left the threat hanging there in the air.
"Dad!" Ino complained, but she was smiling.
"I won't." I said with all the conviction I could muster.
Inoichi gave me a single, sharp nod. Ino turned around, hugged me, then kissed me in front of her dad.
The horror!
There were a few things I had to do, now that I have the time. I couldn't waste my time not training. That was non-negotiable. I told Ino the same.
"We're training every day," I told her.
She nodded. "Sure."
"But I still want to rest."
Another nod.
"So we'll be smart about it."
She squinted. "How smart?"
I grinned. "Clone-smart."
She groaned and face-palmed.
Later that day, I paid a visit to the tower. After an entire afternoon of talking with Ino, I decided what I wanted to do for my vacations: we're going on dates, a lot of them. I was also taking a page from the Yamanaka clan, and thinking of opening a business.
A bakery. Not super original, I know, but I enjoyed baking.
But for that, I needed monies. Lots of monies I didn't have. My financial situation hadn't been the best even before the Land of Rivers mission, but now? I was utterly broke. Man, I was glad that at least the village didn't charge me hospital fees. Months in a coma and not a single coin that I needed to pay for that.
Still, I needed a bit of money to rent or buy a place. Ino had given me a few good ideas.
I didn't need to buy an existing shop. With mokuton, I could clear the area and create the shop any way I wanted, same as Yamato always did. I'd need to worry only about the equipment, supplies, and all the other stuff to make the place confortable.
For the initial investment, I was going to pitch my sealing abilities to Shisui.
I mean, they didn't let me go out on missions, and I couldn't sell my seals to civilians, but I could sell them to the village, right? That wasn't leaking secrets, and not to toot my own horn, my seals were good; the explosions especially. I could pump out a few hundred a day, maybe even make them five times as strong as the normal ones, if Shisui was willing to pay a bit more.
If that worked, I'd use that money to rent or buy a plot of land in the commercial, maybe residential district, then open my shop.
I landed in front of the tower, stepped inside, and immediately knew something was wrong.
Secretary-chan sat at her desk, eyes rimmed red, nose blotchy. Not just crying, but ugly crying. She'd been trying to stop for a while.
The second I saw her, my gut twisted. Something was wrong. Really wrong.
I ran to her side and hugged her tight. "What is it?"
She buried her face into my shoulder and sobbed a raw, helpless, agonized wail.