With the Third Hokage’s backing, the Military Police Force naturally handled the matter entirely by the book—issuing the appropriate detentions and fines.
Once the processing was complete, Yasuka led Naruko out.
“Um…
excuse me…
big brother…
why did you help me?”
In little Naruko’s memory, aside from Grandpa Sarutobi, no one had ever been this good to her.
Yasuka smiled faintly and knelt down to help wipe the smudges off Naruko’s face.
His movements were incredibly gentle, making Naruko—who was long used to being beaten and shoved—feel a bit uncomfortable.
“Me?
I’m a friend of your father’s.
From today onward, I’ll be taking care of you.”
“A friend of my…
father’s?”
The word *father* was entirely foreign to Naruko.
After murmuring it over and over a few times, she finally processed what it meant.
“That’s right.
I’ll go have a word with the Third Hokage in a bit.
He’ll give me some face.”
“Mm…
okay!”
Sensing an unadulterated kindness radiating from Yasuka that was completely different from anyone else, Naruko quickly accepted this reality.
Yet, terrified that Yasuka might suddenly vanish, she couldn’t resist reaching out to gently clutch a handful of his clothes.
Looking at Naruko in this state, Yasuka felt a mixture of deep heartache and burning anger.
Then again, he wasn’t blameless either; if only he had returned a bit sooner…
When they returned to the Hokage’s office, Yasuka put on a display of his forceful, unyielding side.
The Third Hokage appeared thoroughly guilt-ridden about the whole ordeal and readily accepted Yasuka’s proposal to adopt Naruko.
He had intended for something like this to happen anyway, so now that Yasuka had brought it up himself, he naturally went with the flow and gave his permission.
“…”
Leaving the office, Yasuka was a bit surprised, quickly catching on to what the Third Hokage was scheming.
But he didn’t care in the slightest, immediately turning to share the good news with Naruko.
“Let’s go to your apartment first to pack your things.
Starting today, you’re moving into my house.”
Yasuka gently stroked Naruko’s little head.
Since he had never watched Naruto and knew nothing about the plot, he didn’t feel any lingering discomfort.
“Mm!”
Naruko’s home was in an apartment building, its walls painted with all kinds of loathing and foul insults directed at the “demon fox,” which made Yasuka frown deeply.
“This is my home.”
The interior of Naruko’s apartment was a complete disaster of filth and clutter.
The moment the door was pushed open, mountains of instant ramen cups and milk cartons piled up like miniature garbage dumps.
“…”
“I’m…
I’m sorry…
I…
I haven’t cleaned up yet…”
Having Yasuka see her living in such unhygienic conditions filled Naruko with an even deeper sense of shame.
Yasuka merely shook his head, telling Naruko to pack up her belongings.
Once everything was settled, she could head home with him.
Naruko didn’t have many possessions: a few cups of instant ramen, three chipped wooden kunai, a homemade fishing rod.
As for the bedding and daily necessities, Yasuka told Naruko to leave them behind, as they could just buy brand-new ones later.
“Is…
is that really okay?”
Naruko felt entirely at a loss, but Yasuka simply ruffled her little head, stating that he would be Naruko’s older brother from now on.
Whenever she needed something, she just had to ask.
“Wah…”
Feeling the profound warmth of Yasuka’s kindness, Naruko desperately wanted to cry, but she was terrified that Yasuka might get angry at her, so she did her best to keep the tears pooling in her eyes.
“Cry if you want to,” Yasuka comforted her softly.
Those words broke the dam, and Naruko’s tears burst forth instantly as she threw her arms around Yasuka, wailing at the top of her lungs.
“…”
Yasuka gently patted Naruko’s back and carefully lifted her into his arms, murmuring that he would carry her for this leg of the journey for now.
“Mm…”
Naruko wrapped her arms tightly around Yasuka’s neck, pressing her entire body against him like a little koala.
“Miss Rabbit, thank you for your hard work this time as well.”
Turning toward the Anbu responsible for carrying the luggage, Yasuka expressed his gratitude.
Miss Rabbit merely shook her head, and after a moment’s hesitation, she uncharacteristically spoke up:
“Please do not call me Miss Rabbit.
Just call me Uzuki.”
“Sure thing, Miss Rabbit.”
“…”
On the way back, Yasuka carrying Naruko drew a massive wave of gossip from the passersby.
Most of them whispered that Yasuka was an accomplice of the demon fox or something of the sort.
Naruko silently buried her face into Yasuka’s chest.
She was terrified—terrified that Yasuka would grow to hate her because of these rumors.
Was she…
truly a demon fox?
“Naruko,” Yasuka suddenly called out, causing Naruko’s heart to leap into her throat.
She could only look up at him with hesitation.
“Starting tomorrow, how about I teach you some self-defense arts?
I guarantee it’ll make those bullies run away with their heads in their hands.”
Yasuka gave a warm smile, acting like a brilliant sun piercing straight into Naruko’s heart, which had been thoroughly shrouded in darkness, pain, and sorrow.
No, this was something even brighter than sunlight.
Was she…
truly qualified to receive this?
Naruko thought to herself with deep self-doubt, but the only response she received was Yasuka’s gentle inquiry asking what she wanted to eat tonight.
“Inst…
instant ramen…
is that okay?”
“…”
Yasuka was somewhat speechless.
He then gave the little blonde head a slightly firm rub, telling her that children shouldn’t always eat instant ramen, or else they wouldn’t grow tall.
“Oh…”
Feeling the immense care radiating from Yasuka, Naruko only felt a warm current washing through her entire body.
As they passed by a dango shop, a pair of beauties—seemingly an older and younger sister—happened to cross paths with Yasuka.
The little lolita piggybacking on her older sister’s back spotted Naruko also being carried by someone.
She couldn’t help but let out a disdainful, arrogant snort.
Being looked down upon like this made Naruko feel an inexplicable surge of annoyance.
*You’re clearly being carried on someone’s back too,* she thought, mimicking the other girl’s posture and snorting right back.
“Hmph!”
“Hmph!!”
“Hmph!!!”
“…”
Yasuka and the older teenage girl locked eyes, both sharing an apologetic look.
The older girl turned her head and softly lectured the little lolita a few times, which finally made the girl pout and stop paying attention to Naruko.
“Do you know them?” Yasuka asked softly after the two walked further away.
“No, but…
I just feel like she’s really annoying…”
Upon returning to the massive estate prepared by the Third Hokage, Miss Rabbit displayed a look of surprise.
After questioning further, they learned that this was actually the newly renovated former estate of the Fourth Hokage.
“Ha…
that old codger really knows how to present someone else’s gift as his own.”
Yasuka mocked the Hokage without any reservation, and then began helping Naruko unpack and tidy up the rooms.
Along the way, he also tidied up a room for Miss Rabbit.
After all, during his future life in Konoha, Miss Rabbit would constantly follow him as his bodyguard.
“Actually, it’s perfectly fine for me to just sleep on the roof…”
Miss Rabbit felt a bit overwhelmed.
She had undertaken a few missions to protect nobles in the past; the pay was incredibly high, but those nobles were each more difficult to deal with than the last.
That was why she had stopped taking those requests altogether.
If the Third Hokage hadn’t specifically called her out by name this time, she wouldn’t have accepted this mission at all.
“How could that be allowed?
If your sleep quality is poor, who’s going to protect me?”
“…” Miss Rabbit was struck dumb for a moment.
Despite being a noble, Yasuka was…
unexpectedly down-to-earth.
“By the way, Miss Rabbit, do you have any dietary restrictions?”
“I can just eat food pills…”
Seeing how stubborn Miss Rabbit was being this time, Yasuka didn’t force the issue.
He and Haku had already whipped up a meal of three dishes and a soup.
“It smells so good…”
Naruko’s eyes couldn’t help but light up.
She had money, but the Konoha villagers were never willing to sell anything to her, so she had fundamentally never eaten home-cooked stir-fry like this before.
“Eat up, I made plenty.”
As Yasuka spoke, he placed a piece of meat into both Naruko’s and Haku’s bowls, gesturing that they could dig in.
Miss Rabbit sat kneeling silently by the doorway.
Smelling the rich aroma drifting through the air, she couldn’t stop her mouth from watering, and the sound of Naruko wolfing down her food was far too loud to ignore.
Enduring the hunger, she forced herself to pull out a food pill, when suddenly, a bowl of white rice appeared right in front of her.
“Have some.
Food pills aren’t good for your health.
By the way, what was your name again, Miss Rabbit?
I don’t think I caught it yet.”