The Girl Beneath the Tree, the Feeling of Being Cherished

Around three in the afternoon.

"Is Liuyun home?"

When Kushina arrived at Liuyun's front door, she found the gate tightly locked. She called out twice, but no one came to answer.

"Where did that guy go if he doesn't even have to attend school...?"

Kushina muttered, looking a little disappointed.

She hesitated at the door, wanting to leave but unwilling to do so, thinking that he might return at any moment...

The sun was scorching at this time, the ground was blazing hot, and the air was thick with suffocating heat. Shielding her eyes with one hand, Kushina could no longer bear the sweltering weather and ran beneath a nearby small tree to escape the fierce sunlight.

Near four in the afternoon, after spending most of the afternoon practicing, Liuyun finally mastered the Water Walking Technique. He walked upstream against the current, an unconscious smile spreading across his face.

Every bit of improvement in his strength brought him joy.

Poof! Poof!

The two Shadow Clones vanished at the same time, and a massive amount of training experience flooded into Liuyun's mind all at once.

Splash!

The mental impact was considerable. Liuyun lost his rhythm while walking on water for a moment, and fell into the river again.

"Looks like I still need more practice. I need to reach the point where not even a drop of water touches me as soon as possible..."

After climbing ashore, Liuyun set himself a new goal.

If he mastered the Water Walking Technique to its limit, he could probably even become immune to an A-rank ninjutsu like the Great Waterfall Technique. Just like when Pain fought berserk Naruto—the surging groundwater was comparable to Water Release Ninjutsu, yet Deva Path Pain could walk upon the waves as though on solid ground.

That required extraordinarily advanced Chakra control, and Liuyun was still far from it.

After taking off his clothes and wringing out some of the water, Liuyun slowly headed home.

When he neared his front door, the familiar figure beneath a small tree left him instantly stunned.

Liuyun hurried over to her, and his arrival also caught Kushina's attention.

"You came to see me? How long have you been waiting?"

"I... I just got here..." Kushina answered softly, blushing.

Liuyun did not catch what she said. He grabbed her little hand and hurried toward the house.

In such scorching weather, who knew how long the little girl had been standing under that tree? Her entire face was flushed red from the heat, and sweat had soaked through her dress. Liuyun was even worried she might suffer heatstroke and fall ill.

Opening the gate, Liuyun hurriedly led her to the shaded area behind the house. The air circulated well there, and it was much cooler than indoors. The old Liuyun had occasionally hidden there to read manga and take afternoon naps.

"Sit here for now..."

After pressing Kushina down onto a bench, Liuyun hurried into the house and brought out an ice-cold drink.

"Here, drink this quickly and cool off..."

As he spoke, Liuyun took out a fan and vigorously fanned cool air toward her.

Seeing him so attentive, Kushina's eyes curved into happy crescents. She took several large gulps of the chilled orange juice. The icy, sweet-and-sour flavor made her feel refreshed from head to toe, filling both her body and heart with delight.

Waiting so long had not been in vain. After one sip of the cold drink, all the summer heat and grievances vanished completely...

"You really should've told me yesterday that you were coming today. In weather this damn hot, why were you foolishly waiting outside?"

"If you really couldn't help it, you could've climbed over the wall and come inside to get out of the sun... You're so dumb..."

Liuyun fanned her while adding fuel to the fire.

"Who are you calling dumb? Believe it or not, I'll beat you up?" Kushina threatened coldly, clenching her fist.

"..."

Only after seeing that Liuyun did not dare make a sound did she lower her fist and glare at him.

"I told you, I just got here! Besides, who climbs over someone else's wall to enter their house on their first visit? What am I, a thief?"

"Uh..."

Liuyun found that reasonable and awkwardly scratched his head with a laugh.

"Big idiot!"

Kushina could not help scolding him, though the corners of her lips lifted slightly.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching for the author instead. It may simply have been renamed!

"..."

The two lowered their heads and fell silent for a while. Seeing him looking like a drowned rat, Kushina could not help asking:

"Did you fall into the water? Why are you soaked all over...?"

"Yeah, I slipped up and fell in by accident!" Liuyun said with a smile, offering an "explanation."

"Pfft, hahaha... I told you that you're a big idiot! Someone who can accidentally fall into the water while walking still dares to call other people dumb..." Kushina laughed so hard she could barely close her mouth.

"..."

After she had laughed enough, Liuyun finally spoke.

"Wait for me here. I'll go take a bath and change into dry clothes..."

"Mm-hmm, go on, go on..." Kushina's pretty face reddened slightly as she waved him away repeatedly.

Before long, Liuyun had washed away the muddy river smell with soap and dried his long hair with a towel.

Once he was done, he sat down right beside Kushina. Sitting close together on the same bench, they looked especially intimate.

Breathing in the soapy scent on Liuyun's body, Kushina felt utterly refreshed. The smell was indescribably pleasant...

She subconsciously lowered her head, her entire face turning bright red.

Noticing her unusual state, Liuyun could not help feeling worried.

"Why is your face red again? Don't tell me you really got heatstroke?"

As he spoke, Liuyun reached out and touched her forehead.

"Really hot..."

Feeling his cool palm land on her forehead, Kushina hurriedly turned her head away.

"I... I don't have heatstroke... Don't... don't touch me like that..."

Kushina's voice grew quieter and quieter, but Liuyun gave no response at all.

When Kushina turned to look, she found that he had disappeared. He had already gotten up and gone inside...

!!!

Kushina froze for a moment, then her face filled with disappointment.

As time passed, that feeling of disappointment only grew stronger, until she almost wanted to get up and leave.

"Damn Liuyun, couldn't he at least tell me before going inside...?" Kushina muttered, puffing out her cheeks in silent anger.

"Here. Wash your face and cool down..."

Liuyun suddenly appeared and handed her a clean white wet towel.

He had gone inside to find a towel, and had even prepared a basin of cold water for Kushina to wash her face...

"Don't worry, it's a new towel. No one's used it."

Seeing Kushina staring blankly, Liuyun could not help finding it amusing.

"What are you spacing out for? Do you need me to wipe your face for you?"

!!!

"N-No... I'll do it myself..."

Coming back to her senses, Kushina hurriedly waved her hands and then carelessly wiped her face a few times with the cool towel.

"..."

Liuyun took the towel back, rinsed it several times in the cold water with ice cubes, then handed it to her again.

"Wipe properly. Then hold it against your face for a while to cool down..."

"Ah... o-okay..."

The icy towel pressed against her hot face, and Kushina felt completely refreshed, comfortable beyond words.

Watching this considerate boy with such a serious expression repeatedly rinse out her towel, Kushina's heart trembled. A blissful feeling of being cherished rose within her.

Is this what it feels like to be valued? He really... is so gentle!