The silence grew deeper.
For once, Shorai's thoughts were quiet. He simply stared into Ino's eyes.
He could feel her warmth beside him, the faint quickening of her heartbeat as she leaned against him. Slowly, a genuine smile reached his eyes.
His gaze drifted briefly across the village below—the evening lights, the distant movement through the streets—before returning to her.
"What are you thinking about?" Ino asked. Her voice was barely more than a whisper.
"At this very moment?" Shorai paused. "Nothing. Other than trying to feel this moment clearly enough to remember it."
"Shorai…" Another quiet whisper left her lips. "Do you really… really see me as more than a friend?"
He did not answer immediately.
Then Shorai turned fully toward her.
"Yes," he said softly. "I do."
Ino's breath caught.
Shorai studied her expression, his smile gentle but faintly helpless.
"And I think you are afraid I will disappear before you can trust that answer."
Her eyes lowered.
"Maybe," she admitted.
"Just this once, Ino…"
He leaned forward, brushed a loose lock of blond hair from her face, and gently kissed her forehead before drawing her into an embrace.
Ino jolted slightly, caught off guard by the gesture.
"W-what was that…?" she asked, her voice muffled against his chest—half startled, half pleading.
Shorai held her carefully, one hand moving slowly over her back.
"My way of showing you that I mean it," he said softly. "I would not hurt you. That remains true."
He paused.
"Everything I have said, and everything I have done, has come from honesty. My thinking and my wording may seem contradictory sometimes. They may make it sound as though there is some hidden meaning behind what I say."
His gaze remained fixed on the village below.
"But there is not."
Ino's arms tightened around him.
"Then why does it feel like you are always preparing to leave?" she asked quietly. "Are you truly real? Or am I dreaming? Would you vanish the moment I let you go?"
Shorai's brows furrowed. For several seconds, he only looked over the top of her head.
A blurred memory stirred—darkness before his birth, a life that no longer felt entirely his, and the quiet certainty that the Stones were still out there.
"Ino-chan," he said at last, a trace of whimsy entering his voice, "are you already married to me in your head? How far have your thoughts gone?"
"Ah?" Ino pulled back just enough to stare at him. Her cheeks grew red. "But you sound serious! And men—well, men can be—"
"Men, boys, girls, women. Everyone is different, Ino." His arms remained around her, but his voice grew quieter. "Do not decide what I am before you have had the chance to know me."
"I am trying to know you," she replied, her eyes narrowing slightly. "That is the problem, dummy."
Shorai blinked.
Then a small, embarrassed smile appeared on his face.
"Fair."
Ino huffed, but she did not move away.
"You said we are dating," she continued. "Right?"
"Right."
"Then what does that mean to you?"
Shorai hesitated.
"We meet. We spend time together. We find out whether we can choose each other—not as shinobi, not just as friends who care, but as two people who want a future together."
Ino watched him closely.
"And if we can?"
"Then we decide together whether to take the next step."
"Betrothed?" Ino asked.
"Yes. Close, but not married."
Ino frowned lightly. "I heard being betrothed is basically the same thing."
"Not entirely." Shorai exhaled slowly. "Marriage is when you have seen each other at your best and worst, and you still choose to stay. Not because the flaws disappear, but because you learn you can live with them."
His mouth curved faintly.
"Maybe even love the way you face them together."
Ino nodded slowly.
"Yes. I have heard that part from you before."
"Betrothal is different." Shorai's gaze fell to their joined hands. "It is when people start relaxing because they feel chosen. That is when the habits, fears, and flaws they kept hidden while trying to impress each other begin to show."
He gave a small, awkward laugh.
"This probably sounds strange."
"It sounds very serious," Ino said.
"It is." Shorai looked back at her. "But it is also the last time either person can say, 'This is not something I can accept,' before they make a promise meant to last."
Ino was quiet for a moment, staring intently into his eyes.
"Where did you get all that from?" she finally asked. Worry threaded through her voice. "It sounds so natural when you say it. Are you trying to protect me?"
She paused, lowering her voice.
"Careful, Shorai-kun. You sound like my mother."
Then, almost too quietly to hear, she added, "But I am still here, even through—no. Never mind."
Shorai caught the unfinished thought. His smile receded.
"I told you before," he said. "My views and norms may differ from yours. I do think about protecting people from harm—especially from rushing into something beautiful and turning it into pain because no one asked the difficult questions."
"I understand, Shorai-kun. You do not have to repeat yourself." Ino shook her head and pursed her lips. "It just sounds like I am talking to a stack of books sometimes."
Shorai looked down.
"You are trying hard to make it honest," she continued, her voice gentler. "I can see that. I appreciate it. But you do not have to protect me in that way."
Her gaze moved between his eyes.
"Consider my choice in that complex head of yours."
She raised a finger and tapped it lightly against his forehead.
Shorai's mouth twitched.
"I suppose that is one of my flaws," he admitted. "It has become a bad habit."
"It is still only a flaw," Ino said, her expression warm. "But the intensity you put into everything could turn it into a bad habit."
"For now, then," Shorai said, looking slightly relieved.
"He-he." Ino giggled at his expression.
"I am relieved." His smile widened. "You know that part about flaws…"
He let out a quiet chuckle.
"This is why I am here with you alone. Looks, height… stupid things like that can get in the way. I would be fortunate to know you see more than that when you look at me."
Ino blinked and looked away for a moment. Then her expression shifted, as though something had finally clicked.
"Pff…"
She laughed.
"You are trying so hard," she said.
"What?" Shorai asked softly.
"To be understood," Ino said. "You keep trying to be the perfect version of yourself, but you still leave the real you just out of reach."
She raised a hand and ran her fingers gently through his hair, stunning him into stillness.
"This is not a Transformation Jutsu, or something equally suspicious, meant to make you look our age, is it?" she teased.
Shorai exhaled slowly.
"When will my age stop being the point of concern? You are not the first person to bring it up, and you probably will not be the last."
"Shorai-kun…" Ino sighed. "My parents—mostly my mother—are concerned about everything involving you."
"They are your parents. They should be."
"But you chose to be honest with me. You shared your views—"
"And that is what made my mother concerned," Ino interrupted. "She said some of your behavior is not appropriate for someone our age."
As she said it, Shorai noticed her eyes beginning to shine with unshed tears.
"You heard the first goal I told you about," he said quietly.
Ino made a small sound and nodded.
"My ideas. My plans…" Shorai watched her carefully. "I feel as though the time I have to prepare is shorter than it should be."
Her expression shifted.
"Not because I intend to leave," he added. "Because the world does not wait for people to become ready. I cannot afford to stay weak just because I am young."
"It is all so grand and distant, Shorai-kun."
"The next few years will be dedicated to catching up—to becoming strong enough for the goal I set." His gaze fell to her hands. "But the goals after that involve having someone important beside me. Someone who makes that goal worth staying on course for. Someone who strengthens my will to pursue it."
He lifted his gaze and met her eyes.
"You are becoming that important person."
Ino's lips parted.
"So you are not avoiding me?" she asked. "By making all these strange relationship rules?"
She bit her lip.
"No. Forget it. I understand you have a secret position in the village…"
"Look at me, Ino."
She raised her azure eyes to his.
"We do not spend enough time together. That is true. My work may explain some of it, but it does not make the distance between us any less real. If we are meant to know each other as I said I want us to—as I dream of—then it is something I have to take seriously."
He tightened his hold around her hands.
"I am not angry or disappointed with you, dummy," Ino sighed. "You do not need to point that out."
"But I do." Shorai looked around at the cliff, the nearby trees, the lights of the village below, and finally back at her.
"I chose this. This moment. This time."
Then, in a playful voice that carried softly over the evening wind, he sang, "There's nobody here, it's just you and me. It's where I want to be…"
Ino leaned back in surprise. In the nearby lamplight, he could clearly see her cheeks turn crimson.
"Y-you just sang?"
"A version of me I do not usually show," Shorai replied, still smiling.
"Was that a song?"
"It came to mind." He gave a quiet chuckle. "Something I improvised because I was in the right mood."
"Maybe you should write it down." Ino giggled, her eyes narrowing with a sly look. "A shinobi who is a model and perhaps a secret singer? He-he."
"Oh, do not plan for me now," Shorai said, catching her expression. "My hands are already full with enough things."
He smiled faintly.
"Though I might make an exception for you when it is just the two of us."
"Good!" Ino smirked. "You said it. Keep that."
Ino's smile lingered, then slowly faded into something more uncertain.
"Shorai-kun."
"Yes?" His brow rose.
"I do notice," she said slowly. "Your care. The time you spend with me. It is hard to know how to respond sometimes, with all your rules."
"You feel obligated?" Shorai asked, a mixture of sadness and kindness in his smile. "As if you have to give something back?"
Ino looked away, blushing.
"Y-yes."
"There is no obligation between us," Shorai said, his expression calm and serious. "There should not be. Only free choice."
Ino looked back at him.
"Accept my gestures when you want to. Tell me when something is too much, or when you cannot accept it. But do not ever think you owe me affection, time, or any part of yourself because I chose to care for you."
"You remember what I told you about helping those boys at the Academy?" he continued.
Ino nodded. "Something about women's needs."
"Yes." Shorai held her gaze. "I have needs too. To be needed, to stay free, and to remain myself."
Ino tilted her head. "That part sounds familiar. Being needed?"
"Your gratitude," he said. "The way you notice things. It matters more than you realize."
Ino's brows furrowed as she considered this.
"My mother said something similar once," she murmured. "The part about staying yourself—that is just you being you, right?"
"It is."
"I want the real you," she said simply, then blushed.
Shorai smiled.
"So you accept me the way I am?"
"Right. But…" Ino's voice turned inquisitive. "What about the freedom part?"
"Freedom to choose, to act, and to behave as myself," Shorai replied. "The consequences of those choices are mine to bear, of course."
"That is just basic decency and kindness."
"Not quite." His voice remained calm. "It is also about control, boundaries, and limitations. You have likes and dislikes. So do I. If we want to build something together, we have to understand those things and choose around them together."
He paused.
"I remain free, but I keep you in mind. I do not stop being myself, but I accept that my decisions affect you."
Ino tried to hold the sly expression, but laughter escaped her.
"So you just want to feel that the choice was yours?"
Shorai was taken aback. Then he smiled helplessly.
"Yes," he admitted. "Something like that. Though freedom does not mean I get to ignore you."
Ino wiped the corner of her eye. "That is a little more revealing." Her smile turned sly again. "I suppose my mother taught me how to flirt based on those lines."
"He-he." Ino's laughter faded into a warm smile. "I understand her words better now. Thanks to you."
She locked eyes with him.
"Shorai-kun, thank you for such a lovely time. It really means a lot to me."
"Then thank you for tolerating me, lovely lady."
Shorai let go of one of her hands as they shifted back to face the village. Ino leaned against his arm, anchoring herself there.
They sat in silence, watching Konoha's evening lights come alive while a cool wind moved around them.
"It is so calm," Ino whispered. "As if no place is safe but right here."
Shorai did not answer. He watched distant figures move through the illuminated streets while black shadows crossed from rooftop to rooftop.
After some time, Ino shifted closer. With a quiet little sigh, she carefully lowered herself until her head rested across Shorai's knees.
Shorai glanced down, briefly caught off guard.
Ino looked up at him and gave an exaggerated yawn.
"Do not move," she murmured. "This is surprisingly comfortable."
Then she closed her eyes.
Shorai extended a thin sensory pulse across the quiet overlook, then drew the blanket over her shoulders. His calm gaze returned to Konoha.
After a while, her breathing deepened into the steady rhythm of sleep.
A small smile appeared on Shorai's lips as he watched a single light burn in the Hokage's office.
'Has she begun preparing the room?' he wondered.
Then the smile faded.
'Sasuke and the Sound Four. I wonder when it will happen.'
Shorai remained still while Ino slept, occasionally glancing at his watch.
When the time passed nine, he gently nudged her awake. They still had enough time to return before ten.
"Sorry to wake you, sleeping beauty. But time calls."
"Oh?" Ino rubbed her eyes and refocused. "I fell asleep."
Then she smiled sleepily.
"Shorai-kun, your legs are so comfortable."
"Thank you? I suppose?" Shorai said, uncertain how to respond. "Still, we should go. Being scolded by your mother—and possibly seeing you less because of it—is not what I want."
"Hmph. I will talk her out of it. Do not be scared."
Ino rose with a quiet giggle and helped Shorai gather the blanket and cushions before he returned them to the storage scroll.
After a while, they arrived outside the Yamanaka flower shop.
"I had such a great time, Shorai-kun." Ino looked at him with open happiness. "I enjoyed it a lot."
"I am glad to hear that." Shorai stepped closer. "It was the same for me, Ino."
They shared a tight embrace.
"I hope meetings like this will not be so rare," Shorai said quietly.
"Then we will make time for them more often," Ino replied. Her expression softened slightly. "But your training…"
"If nothing interrupts us," Shorai said, "how would three times a week sound?"
Ino's grip tightened.
"Three times a week?" she repeated. "That is still rare."
Shorai raised a brow. "Rare?"
"Rare," Ino repeated more firmly.
"Medium-rare or well-done rare?" Shorai asked with a smirk.
"W-wha—?" Ino jolted as her stomach suddenly growled. "Hey! Now you made me angry and hungry!"
"Oh." Shorai chuckled. "You sound so cute when you are h-a-n-g-r-y."
They pulled apart.
"Make time for me when you can," Ino said gently. "I am busy too, you know. The shop, clan matters, missions…"
"I will," Shorai said, nodding. "I will find time in my schedule for you, Ino."
Ino's smile returned.
"Pleasant dreams, Shorai-kun."
"Pleasant…" Shorai began, but his gaze drifted past her shoulder.
His expression changed.
"Ino."
Ino studied his expression, then followed his gaze toward the street. "What happened?"
A figure stepped out from the shadow beyond the lamplight, a Cat mask catching the glow.
"Duty calls," Shorai replied.
The words echoed again in his mind as the masked figure approached.
Duty calls