The granite steps of the Hokage Building cast long, slanting shadows.
Kushina dragged Mikoto behind a pillar, her little face flushed with excited mischief.
"Mikoto, you know what?" She lowered her voice, a bit smug. "Ryo—he likes my feet!"
The air froze for a heartbeat.
Mikoto's eyes widened slightly. "No way? Ryo-kun, with that icy personality…"
Her gaze instinctively dropped to Kushina's feet in her ninja sandals—slightly dusty, but pale and delicate.
Her eyes flicked to her own feet beneath her skirt, just as slim and well-shaped in wooden clogs.
She shifted, pressing her soles lightly against the stone slab.
Mine aren't bad either…
The thought stabbed into her mind like an icicle, followed by a wave of burning shame that flooded her cheeks.
Uchiha Mikoto, what are you thinking?! she scolded herself inwardly. Kushina is your best friend!
"Hey! Mikoto?" Kushina waved a hand in front of her face, red hair leaning close, blue eyes full of suspicion. "Spacing out? Jaw drop, right? Hah!"
Mikoto snapped back, pinching her palm with her fingertips, forcing a flawless smile.
"Kushina, you… you're so lucky! I'm happy for you."
She paused, voice softening with a playful lilt as she deflected the topic.
"But you little minx, telling me this means you want your strategist to keep plotting for you, right? So, how do we bring him down next?"
"Mikoto! You get me!" Kushina puffed up proudly, her eyes sparkling. "We're besties! Thanks to you, Ryo and I have come this far! And in the future… my kids will call you godmother!" She thumped her chest solemnly.
"Mhm." Mikoto lowered her lashes, hiding the faint flash of sourness and unwillingness in her eyes, smiling gently. "We're best friends, of course."
Sunlight filtered through the columns, slicing patchwork shadows across the two girls.
Mikoto took a deep breath, then leaned close to Kushina's ear. Her warm breath brushed the redhead's small earlobe.
"Actually… I've got a brilliant idea. You can 'reward' Ryo-kun without looking too forward, and it'll make him even more attached—he'll treasure you himself…"
Her whispers were soft and quick, like fine raindrops tapping against Kushina's heart.
The details were impossible to hear.
But Kushina's vivid blue eyes widened, her pupils shrinking like a startled cat's. Her long lashes trembled rapidly.
The blush on her cheeks shot to her ears and down her neck, painting her face a ripe, glowing tomato.
Her body stiffened. Her toes curled uneasily in her sandals. She tried to press her knees together, then froze—like a puppet hung on invisible strings.
A tiny, almost inaudible whimper escaped her throat.
It was as if invisible sparks exploded between them.
Just then, the heavy dark door of the Hokage Building opened.
A tall figure stepped out into the sunlight—Ryo.
His face was calm as ever. Those silver eyes, faintly tinted red by the sun, swept over them and stopped on Kushina's flushed face.
A flicker of confusion crossed his gaze. What's with my little chili pepper today?
"Wah! Ryo!" Kushina reacted like a small animal with its tail stepped on. She bounced back a step, then slid forward again, fumbling to hide her blush.
"Y-You're out! That old—uh, Grandpa Third! Didn't give you trouble, right? If he dares bully you, I'll burn his precious beard right now!"
She babbled, trying to bury her slip under exaggerated bravado, her eyes darting everywhere but at Ryo.
Ryo's gaze paused on her flushed face, automatically ignoring her beard-burning threat. He walked up to her.
"It's fine. Good news."
His tone barely changed. He reached into his cloak, pulled out a pale yellow scroll, and handed it to her.
"Here. Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, A-rank. With your chakra reserves, it suits you."
The scroll felt cool in her hands as it unfurled. The bold inked characters seemed almost alive.
"Wah—A-rank!" Kushina gasped in delight. Her blush melted into excitement.
She caught the scroll instinctively. The cold paper felt warm in her hands now. She looked up at him, eyes shimmering like a lake full of stars. "Ryo, thank you…"
"Kushina." Ryo cut her off, brow twitching slightly. His voice was low, leaving no room for argument.
"Between us, don't say that again."
A strange warmth welled up in her chest, washing away her earlier embarrassment.
She sniffed, the shine in her eyes brightening. Forgetting all strategy, she lunged forward, clinging tightly to his arm, pressing close as she tilted her rosy face up.
"Okay! I won't say it!"
Her soft warmth and faint sun-dried scent surrounded him. Ryo's body stiffened slightly, but he didn't pull away.
He looked down at the fluffy red hair nestled against his arm and let out a quiet, resigned hum.
"Can't do anything about you."
He lifted his hand, dropping his palm onto her head—not gentle, even a bit rough—as he rubbed twice at her messy hair.
He avoided her forehead and cheeks with measured care, like a clumsy lion tending to something that belonged to him.
Only Kushina could feel that faint note of comfort in his touch.
The air went still. Even the wind curved around their corner.
A few steps away, Mikoto stood frozen like a porcelain doll in shadow.
The earlier "strategy talk"—that faint flutter over toes—faded into nothing.
She watched Kushina cling to Ryo's arm, watched Ryo—usually cold to everyone—deliver that awkward yet indulgent head rub, watched Kushina's goofy smile drown in sweetness.
A lump of cold lead settled in her stomach. The spark of thought and plan that had flared when she'd glanced at her own feet was smothered.
She could feel the warmth inside her chest cool rapidly to nothing.
Her nails dug deep into her palm. The sting brought a thin illusion of calm. Fine. Very fine, Kushina.
The corridor's stone columns stood grey and solemn. Light cut harsh lines across everything.
Only Kushina's red hair and the pale hand holding the scroll burned vividly bright.
Mikoto's heart twisted like the crescent mark in her palm.
She couldn't stay.
"Ahem…"
A deliberately muted cough broke the silence.
Ryo and Kushina turned at once.
Mikoto's head was slightly bowed. A few strands of black hair fell across her forehead, hiding half her face.
She hid her bleeding palm inside her sleeve, the other hand lifting to smooth a nonexistent stray hair near her temple.
The motion was stiff, as if to hide the tremble in her fingers.
Her voice came light and calm.
"Kushina, Ryo-kun, I… just remembered the clan elders assigned me something important. I have to go back before afternoon. It's urgent."
She didn't even try to make it sound convincing. "So… you two talk! Let's stop here today. I'll go now!"
Before the last word fell, she turned and fled, the hem of her kimono fluttering around her ankles.
Only then did Kushina seem to realize.
"Ah?" She blinked, loosening her grip on Ryo's arm, looking after Mikoto in a daze. "Clan business? Oh… Mikoto, you… take care!"
Her big eyes still held a trace of dampness, not fully understanding her friend's sudden exit. She waved the scroll without thinking.
Only afterward did something feel off.
She caught a glimpse of Mikoto's downcast eyes—dark and bottomless like a lake at night.
Then, as if startled by Ryo's calm scent, she instinctively leaned closer to him again, mumbling, "Then hurry home! Don't delay it!"
Her tone mixed real concern with a faint hint of possessiveness.
Mikoto swayed slightly. I shouldn't be here.
The next moment, she pivoted cleanly. Her dark braid flicked behind her as she walked away.
She didn't look back. Her steps tapped softly on the cold stone—tak, tak—fading into the wide plaza.
At the last moment before vanishing around the corner, her slender back straightened slightly, like a drawn bowstring.
But the shadows of the buildings swallowed her whole, leaving only silence and the faint trace of pride that Konoha's vastness quickly devoured.
"Hmph! This is all your fault!"
In the shadow of the pillar, Kushina suddenly kicked Ryo's calf—lightly, more a pout than a hit.
Her emotional wave had passed
Hands on hips, she glared at Ryo's calm face. "If you hadn't come out so suddenly, I wouldn't have lost face in front of Mikoto! You scared her off with that ice-face of yours! Hmph!"
The awkwardness from Mikoto's departure she redirected entirely toward Ryo, forgetting who had melted into their two-person world first.
Sunlight sliced through the gaps between columns, dust drifting in the golden air.
Kushina's blush hadn't fully faded. Mixed with her fiery glare, she looked like a sugar-coated chili pepper—bright and stinging.
She tilted her chin arrogantly, her sharp jawline cutting against the light and shadow.
"Hey! Mikoto's gone—what are you staring at?" Kushina waved her hand hard in front of Ryo's face, trying to pull back his attention.
Ryo drew his gaze from the corner where Mikoto had disappeared. The sunset stretched their shadows long across the ground. Kushina's waving arm shadow poked into his outline.
He looked down at her small, puffed-up face.
That unreadable chill he'd seen in Mikoto's eyes—like a deep current—slipped quietly from his thoughts.
His world steadied again, fixed on this burning splash of red before him.
"Nothing," Ryo said flatly, as if stating a fact.
He lifted his hand and lightly tapped his knuckles against Kushina's smooth forehead with unarguable force.
A soft bonk cut off the words she'd been winding up to yell.
"Ow!" Kushina covered her forehead, eyes round. "Why'd you hit me! Can't I complain a little? You—"
The rest faded.
Ryo's hand didn't leave her forehead. It slid down, warm and rough, brushing over her ear and tucking a strand of red hair aside.
His palm rested at the nape of her neck, firm yet strangely gentle—an undeniable command.
"Let's go." Ryo said simply, striding forward. Drawn by him, Kushina stumbled, then matched his pace.
Wide-eyed, she forgot her anger. All she could feel was the spot where he'd touched her neck, a tiny flame running down her spine and making her limbs weak.
Ryo's profile was calm in the fading light. He looked ahead, as if knocking her forehead and guiding her along were the most natural things in the world.
But that single gesture said more than any words could. She was his. No need for explanations.
The sunset stretched their shadows longer and longer. Kushina's steps shifted from passive to eager, until their two silhouettes on the road home overlapped, merging into one along the stone streets of Konoha.
A few fallen leaves spun in the breeze, settling behind them, left quietly in shadow.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)