Hinata got up especially early today. She put on a new outfit and even brushed her hair more carefully than usual.
From the moment she left home, her left hand stayed tucked in her pocket, as if she were gripping something. Her whole posture was a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
After she crossed a small lane, she spotted Hyuga Kiyonari from afar. He was carrying a bulging bag and striding out in a hurry.
Hinata was just about to call his name, but Kiyonari seemed to sense something and turned first.
"Hinata?"
"Mm… K-Kiyonari-kun…"
The moment Hinata remembered what she was trying to do, a blush rushed across her cheeks, and her voice grew smaller and smaller.
Kiyonari set the bag down, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and asked, "Did you need something?"
"Uh… um…" Hinata shoved the hand in her pocket deeper, then changed her answer. "Nothing. I was just out for a walk."
"I see." Kiyonari nodded. "Then we'll talk tonight. I've got some things to do. Bye."
Before she could say another word, he picked up the heavy bag and walked off quickly.
Hinata stood there, staring blankly in the direction he left. A flicker of unmistakable disappointment passed through her eyes—and… guilt.
"Seriously… why can't I say it?"
…
Meanwhile, Kiyonari didn't slow his pace once. He went straight into Ichiraku Ramen.
"Teuchi-san—whew—take a look at this bag of rice!"
"Thanks for the effort, Kiyonari."
Teuchi immediately opened the bag. Inside was a sack of rice—but unlike the fresh rice people usually ate, these grains were more yellowish and opaque. It was clearly old indica rice.
It wasn't for eating. It was for making rice noodles.
About a week ago, seeing a bowl of ramen had suddenly reminded Kiyonari of rice noodles, so he'd introduced the food to Teuchi and suggested recreating it to sell.
But Kiyonari only remembered the rough method; the finer details had to be figured out through trial and error. Until yesterday, Teuchi finally realized they should use older rice with higher starch content, not new rice.
Teuchi carried the rice into the kitchen, rinsed it, then soaked it—this step alone needed at least four hours.
Kiyonari began checking and washing the tools: the grinder, the steamer, the sieve, a large iron pot, and a pile of molds he'd designed himself.
Four hours later, the grains were completely softened—easy to crush gently with a fingertip.
Teuchi poured the rice into the grinder… then came steaming the rice sheet… and finally, pressing it into shape.
Kiyonari packed the steamed rice sheet into the mold and squeezed it into boiling water. Thin white strands set immediately, forming flexible rice noodles.
Glug-glug-glug…
The sound of boiling water echoed through the kitchen. Two minutes later, the first batch was done.
Kiyonari carefully scooped them out with a strainer and rinsed them once in cold water. When he saw the noodles held their shape—no breaking, no sticking—joy burst in his eyes.
A whole week of work, and it finally paid off!
He pulled one noodle straight from the cold water and popped it into his mouth. The texture was springy and smooth, and the fading memory in his mind sharpened instantly.
"It worked!"
Hearing that, Teuchi immediately boiled another pot, cooked the noodles again, and added a simple broth and toppings.
When Teuchi took his first bite, his eyes widened to what felt like the biggest they'd ever been in his life. "This texture… it's really special! Smoother than ramen, and it absorbs broth well too."
"Kiyonari, how about we split the profits from selling rice noodles fifty-fifty?"
As a "brand-new" food, rice noodles had huge potential in the ninja world. And they'd developed it together—fifty-fifty was the most sincere split.
The downside was that money would come in slowly at first, and Ichiraku was a ramen shop, so separate accounting would be a hassle. Of course, the main thing was that Kiyonari felt he wouldn't be lacking money-making routes in the future anyway.
So he decided, "Let's make it a one-time deal instead. Teuchi-san, name a price and buy the technique from me outright."
"How about two hundred thousand ryo?"
"Deal!"
Kiyonari didn't hesitate for even a second at that price—it was basically free money.
When he walked out of Ichiraku, sunlight fell over him, and everything in front of his eyes seemed brighter.
Once you have money, you start feeling like the whole world owes you.
Kiyonari was no exception. He immediately went on a revenge-shopping spree, buying everything he'd ever wanted. Passing by the movie theater, he saw it had opened, so he walked in and bought several tickets.
With shopping bags and movie tickets in hand, Kiyonari headed back toward the Hyuga compound, steps light.
What surprised him was that Hinata was still standing near the same intersection where they'd parted earlier. She was rolling a small stone back and forth with the tip of her shoe, lost in thought.
"Hinata."
At his voice, Hinata's eyes lit up. She looked up and locked onto him. "Kiyonari—are you done?"
Kiyonari pulled four brand-new movie tickets from his pocket. "When I was in the shopping district just now, I saw the theater had opened, so I wanted to invite you, Ino, and Sakura to watch a movie together. It's an evening showing—afterward we can go eat barbecue."
He paused, noticing Hinata seemed like she wanted to say something but couldn't.
"What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?"
"N-no…"
Afraid he'd misunderstand, she finally pulled out the hand she'd kept hidden in her pocket. Slowly, she opened her palm to reveal two movie tickets—crumpled from being gripped too tightly.
"What a coincidence… When I went out to buy something today, I saw the theater opening too… so I bought two tickets."
Kiyonari looked at the two wrinkled tickets, then met Hinata's evasive yet hopeful eyes.
You… you waited here for me for hours?
"Then we've got six tickets now…"
Kiyonari made his voice sound casual as he took the wrinkled tickets and slipped them into his pocket. Then he waved the remaining four tickets lightly. "Hinata, do you have any other friends you want to invite?"
Hinata lowered her head even more, fingers twisting together. "Besides you guys… and Neji… I… don't really know anyone else."
Kiyonari realized he'd said the wrong thing and quickly patched it up. "My friends aren't that many either. Sasuke counts. You might not know him—he's from the Uchiha clan, but he's a good guy."
"How about… we go back and drop off these things first, then go find him together?"
"Okay." Hinata finally lifted her head. She didn't care who they went to find—so long as she could go with Kiyonari.
The two of them walked side by side to Kiyonari's place, stopped briefly, then headed straight for the Uchiha district to look for Sasuke.
But Sasuke's door was shut tight. Kiyonari pressed the doorbell several times, yet there was no answer at all.