“Don’t obsess over such trivial things.
By the way, where is your little sidekick?” Kushina kicked off her sandals, slipped into a pair of pink guest slippers from the shoe rack, and turned to look at Hideki Sato with a curious head tilt.
“Charmander returned to its summoning realm.” “Oh, I see.
In that case, I’m heading to the bath first.” “The bath?” Hideki blinked, staring at her empty hands.
“Do you even have a change of clothes here?” “Are you an idiot?
I’ll just borrow something of yours.
Don’t tell me you’re going to be stingy over a single shirt.” Since the estate boasted multiple washrooms, Hideki didn’t have to wait for Kushina to finish before taking his own shower.
After a quick, refreshing rinse, he grabbed a cold bottle of soda, cracked it open, and settled onto the living room sofa to flip through a copy of the legendary Icha Icha Paradise.
This specific literary work, which practically transcended generations throughout the history of the shinobi world, felt incredibly tame and simplistic by Hideki’s modern standards.
It failed to stir even the slightest ripple in his composure, though he had to admit the actual plot pacing was somewhat interesting.
Reflecting on it, Hideki figured that if he ever decided to abandon the grueling life of a shinobi, he could easily make a comfortable living as a romance novelist.
A sudden, rhythmic patter-patter of bare footsteps broke the living room’s quiet ambiance.
Hideki casually turned his head, only to instantly spray a mouthful of soda right across the coffee table.
Kushina stood at the edge of the room.
Her long, damp crimson hair draped loosely over her shoulders, and her skin, still radiating the residual warmth of the hot water, flushed with a soft, captivating rosiness.
But none of that was the problem.
The problem was that she was wearing nothing but one of Hideki’s oversized graphic t-shirts.
While the fabric completely enveloped her upper torso, it lost the battle against physics a mere handspan above her knees, leaving a pair of slender, pale legs fully exposed.
Faced with such an unexpectedly domestic, breathless sight, Hideki felt an immediate spike of dry heat in his throat.
He aggressively threw back another massive gulp of the soda, relying heavily on the icy, carbonated rush to force the rising warmth down from his chest.
“What is that utterly repulsive look on your face?” Kushina grumbled, crossing her arms defensively as she walked over.
“Your clothes are massive.
A single shirt is practically a dress on me.” She sat down beside him on the sofa with complete, unbothered freedom, her eyes instantly locking onto the small book in his hands.
“What’s that?
A novel?
Let me see.” Before Hideki could even utter a word of warning, Kushina snatched Icha Icha Paradise right out of his grip and began reading.
Hideki stared blankly at the ceiling, letting out a long, exhausted sigh.
“You know, behaving like this is a severe insult to a man’s professional baseline of self-control.” “What kind of gibberish are you spouting now?” Kushina murmured, her eyes scanning the page.
“I don’t really get—wait.
This story…
it feels incredibly wrong.” The casual indifference on Kushina’s face instantly shattered.
A brilliant crimson tint rapidly consumed her expression, creeping all the way to the tips of her ears.
With a sudden gasp of pure embarrassment, she hurled the book onto the floor and glared at Hideki with absolute fury.
“I completely misjudged you!
I can’t believe you harbor such filth in your home!
Confiscated!” “Let’s put the questionable literature aside for a moment,” Hideki said quickly, clearing his throat as he looked at her crimson face.
“Are we going out to eat, or what’s the plan?” “We are obviously eating here!” Kushina snapped, wrapping her arms around her knees.
“How am I supposed to step outside looking like this?” “Oh, so you are aware that your current attire is a public hazard?
Then how exactly did you have the confidence to parade it right in front of me?” “We’re brothers!
Why should we be strangers over a little fabric?” “Brother, you smell incredibly nice…” Hearing this, Kushina immediately raised her arm, sniffing her sleeve with a look of genuine confusion.
“No, I don’t?
I just smell like your body wash and shampoo.
It’s the exact same scent you have.
How is that nice?” Following a quiet dinner, Hideki carried two reclining lawn chairs up to the roof deck.
The two of them lay side-by-side under the cool night air, gazing up at the brilliant, unobstructed canopy of stars.
“When do you plan on heading back?” Hideki asked, turning his head to look at her.
“It’s getting pretty late.” “My clothes are still wet on the drying rack.
They won’t be ready until tomorrow morning,” Kushina replied smoothly, not breaking her gaze from the sky.
“I’m staying here tonight.
It’s not like it’s the first time.” Living entirely on her own due to her status as an outsider, Kushina enjoyed an immense amount of personal freedom.
In the years prior, whenever they lost track of time training or hanging out, she would routinely crash at his estate.
Hideki would simply sleep in his late parents’ master bedroom, leaving his own room to her.
In every functional sense of the word, Kushina was the closest thing Hideki had to a childhood friend.
Suddenly, a realization struck Hideki like a bolt of lightning.
He sat bolt upright, staring down at her.
“We have a massive problem.
I washed all the spare bedding yesterday afternoon.
The blankets are still hanging out on the line across the yard.
That means we only have exactly one functional comforter inside.” “Huh?
Why would you choose yesterday of all days to do laundry?
You’re so annoying…” “I didn’t exactly receive a formal notice that you were staging a sleepover tonight,” Hideki countered, rubbing his temples.
“Look, it’s not entirely midnight yet.
Why don’t you just head back to your apartment?” “Absolutely not.
Putting on damp, cold clothes feels miserable,” Kushina huffed, turning her back to him.
“Just tough it out for one night.
You’re built like a tank anyway; skipping a blanket for a few hours won’t kill you.” “My dear sister, it might be summer, but you know exactly how brutal the night drop is in the Hidden Leaf.
There is a very high probability I miss tomorrow’s deployment due to a severe fever.” “Please.
Tsunade-sensei is arguably the greatest medical ninja in the entire world.
A common cold is beneath her pay grade.” Back inside the bedroom, Kushina placed a long, cylindrical body pillow precisely down the center of the mattress.
She turned to Hideki, pointing a menacing finger at his chest.
“This is the absolute border.
If a single hair crosses this line, I am going to thrash you into the ground.
Understood?” Looking at the small, aggressively balled fist, Hideki couldn’t help but deadpan, “I thought we were brothers?
Is this the absolute lack of trust you have for your brother?” Kushina narrowed her eyes, her voice dropping into a dangerous purr.
“I saw exactly where your eyes were glued when Tsunade-sensei was stretching today.
Furthermore…
you look at me with that exact same weird intensity sometimes.” A sudden, cold bead of sweat broke out across Hideki’s forehead.
How is her sensory awareness this terrifyingly sharp?
Is this the innate talent of the Uzumaki lineage?
Screw this world and its absolute reliance on broken bloodlines.
Seeing him offer no defense, Kushina lightly nudged his leg with her foot.
“Alright, go kill the lights.
We have to wake up early tomorrow.” The room plunged into relative shadow, though the silver moonlight streaming through the window kept the space perfectly visible.
Hideki could easily make out the bright, reflective sheen of Kushina’s eyes as he stared at the ceiling.
A quiet few minutes ticked by before Kushina’s voice broke the silence.
“Hideki…
are you asleep?” Hideki sighed softly into the dark.
“I’m an ordinary human being, Kushina.
I don’t possess the biological capability to sleep with my eyes wide open.” “Can you pull the blanket a little more to my side?
Half my back is freezing out here.” ( End of Chapter ) CREATORS’ THOUGHTS imyou23 Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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