"Yukina, I'm back... Hm? Why are you the only one here?"
Pushing open the door of the Japanese-style wooden house with one hand, Chiba stepped into the entryway. After poking his head out and scanning the surroundings, he spoke with slight confusion.
"Welcome back."
Hearing Chiba's voice, Yukina stopped carving characters. A smile touched her lips as she said, "The two older sisters are conducting their handover ceremony today. Two older sisters who were just promoted to chunin were assigned here, and Captain Watanabe intends to let them gain some experience."
"Oh, is that so?"
Chiba nodded in understanding.
Then, amid a series of rustling, scraping sounds, Chiba walked into the living room and headed toward the low table.
"What did you bring?"
Hearing those sounds, Yukina asked sharply.
"Some food. It works out nicely since you're the only one here, though I'm not sure we can finish five portions."
At Yukina's question, Chiba lowered his head to look at the huge bulging bag in his hand, which bumped against his knees with nearly every step, and answered casually.
"Oh, right. Is Teacher Kushina coming back today?"
At the end, as if remembering something, he added another question.
"Teacher Kushina has something to do today. Otherwise, she wouldn't have left me with Sister Liang."
Yukina answered truthfully. She slightly lowered the little bamboo slip in her hand and turned toward Chiba—or rather, toward the increasingly dense rustling sounds.
"Oh, right."
By then, Chiba had begun pulling things out of the stuffed bag: boxed meals, roast chicken wrapped in lotus leaves, delicately packaged pastries... Like a magician, he gradually filled the space before Yukina.
The fragrance of food slowly spread through the room as the table filled like a magic trick.
"How much food did you buy?"
Though she could not