So, Everything Had an Answer

Things took an awkward turn, completely different from what they had imagined.

Ino turned her head to look elsewhere, Hinata looked down at her shoes.

"Hmph!" Ino turned her head away.

He wasn't worried about Ino disagreeing; she even had the key. As for Hinata, he wouldn't force her, but she had gotten caught in the rain because she was worried about him.

If you're really too shy, then you can give them some medicine to dispel wind and cold.

Fortunately, the rain didn't last long, otherwise, before they even reached the mountaintop, Ino and Hinata would probably be completely soaked. The most important thing now was to take a bath to warm themselves up and wrap themselves in blankets.

In this way, Naruto's guilt will be somewhat alleviated.

"It's not far from here to the village. If I go back now, my place is indeed the closest." Naruto showed a rare look of difficulty. "The Hyuga Clan's residence and the Yamanaka Flower Shop are both too far from here."

"Besides, I have everything, and there are only two of you. The three of us are completely innocent. You wouldn't choose to go home even if you catch a cold just because you're embarrassed, would you?"

"Sweet talk, Hinata, let's go! Don't believe this foot fetishist!!" Ino grabbed Hinata and started to leave.

Upon hearing this, Naruto's face darkened, and he immediately grabbed Ino.

"Let go!" Ino's body trembled, and she didn't even realize that her voice unconsciously carried a hint of grievance.

"Not this time."

Naruto sighed inwardly. He really wanted to be a good person, but reality always forced him into doing the wrong thing. He exhaled and stared at Ino's face for a long time.

"Ino, you didn't want this either."

Before she could finish speaking, Ino was completely flustered. Damn it! He had too many leverage over her; she had no choice but to compromise!

"Stop talking!" Ino was on the verge of collapse. She let go of Hinata, covered her head, and gritted her teeth as she cursed a few times.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Naruto grinned and then looked at Hinata.

Hinata, what about you?

Hinata hesitated for a moment, but nodded in agreement.

This surprised Naruto somewhat, Ino also glanced at Hinata, her eyes showing a hint of surprise and a touch of jealousy.

The apartment door lock clicked open.

The Nine-Tails fox, lying on the sofa, groggily raised its head and squinted out like a middle-aged man with a hangover, and then it saw the familiar blond hair.

There were also two familiar-looking girls; it had seen them before.

Nine-Tails' heart skipped a beat, and she cursed inwardly.

"That bitch isn't really going to make me do a backflip, is she? Two at once? What a beast! She's really showing off her skills!"

Fortunately, Naruto ignored the Nine-Tails of Kurama and went straight into the bathroom to turn on the hot water.

Hinata, her face flushed, bowed slightly at the door and said "Excuse me" with her eyes closed. But when she looked up, she saw Ino already standing in the entryway, expertly changing her shoes.

The atmosphere became slightly awkward the moment their eyes met.

Hinata lowered her head, walked into the entryway, forced a smile, and silently changed her shoes. Her wet clothes clung to her body, but weren't see-through.

Ino's feet are long and delicate, with a fair complexion and a rosy tint, and they are of food-grade quality when they land firmly on the floor. Hinata's feet, on the other hand, have a jade-like quality, with plump, alabaster-like soles.

The moment the two stepped barefoot onto the floor, Naruto had just finished adjusting the water temperature, came out and saw this astonishing scene, and couldn't take his eyes off it.

"Ah!" Hinata was a little embarrassed and subconsciously backed away from Ino.

Naruto then came to his senses, smiled somewhat awkwardly, and coughed before speaking.

"Um, I'm so sorry the floor wasn't mopped."

"Tsk!" Ino looked at him with disdain and mocked, "Is it that you didn't mop the floor properly? It's that your filthy heart wasn't cleaned properly, right?"

"A death fetish for feet!"

Naruto: "."

"Go take a shower first, preferably together, since you're both girls. If you keep putting it off, one of you is bound to catch a cold."

"Mind your own business!" Ino pulled Hinata toward the bathroom. "You pervert, you'd better stay away from the bathroom, don't listen to the sounds, and don't imagine dirty things."

"Don't worry, I won't," Naruto replied lazily. "I have absolutely no interest in doing that kind of thing."

Hinata, being dragged along, blushed furiously. Listen to the sound of bathing water? That kind of thing... um! It wasn't that she disliked it, she just had absolutely no concept of it.

Or rather, it's completely unimaginable to imagine Naruto.

"Hey!" Ino suddenly turned around and shouted at Naruto before entering the bathroom, "What are you going to do?"

"What do you mean, what to do?"

"You're wet too, you'll catch a cold if you don't shower," Ino said, frowning.

"So, can we shower together?"

"Go to hell!"

"I'll just change my clothes." Naruto waved his hand and turned to walk towards the room.

Nine-Tails lay motionless on its special little sofa, watching the situation unfold with trepidation, already planning how to refuse the request for a backflip.

It's probably because my legs are uncomfortable, or I'm in a bad mood today—a reason that's hard to refuse.

With a splash, Ino sorted the wet clothes and threw them into the washing machine in the bathroom, taking out extra small items that needed to be hand-washed. The bathroom heater was on, so it wasn't cold.

Just as he was about to take a bath and then soak in the tub, he turned around and found Hinata standing there motionless, soaking wet.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Ino walked up to Hinata and reached out to touch her forehead. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Ah, no." Hinata blushed and glanced at Ino somewhat flusteredly. "I think I'm fine now."

"Hmm?" Ino looked at Hinata with a puzzled expression. "Your clothes are soaked. You'll catch a cold if you don't change them now."

"I... I..." Hinata said softly, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"What's there to be embarrassed about? Aren't we all girls?" Ino laughed. "Look at me, I'm not shy at all. Listen to me, change quickly, or you'll catch a cold."

Upon hearing this, Hinata glanced at Ino and nodded.

Hinata, mimicking Ino's actions, threw her outer clothes into the washing machine and placed her undergarments aside. Somewhat embarrassed, she walked to the showerhead and sat down on a small stool with her eyes half-closed.

In the steamy bathroom, there were two small stools and only one showerhead. Ino and Hinata took turns applying shampoo and conditioner to rinse their hair.

After washing your hair, apply a layer of shower gel to your body, rinse thoroughly, and then take a bath. The bathtub is large enough to comfortably accommodate two people.

The girl needs more than half an hour just to wash her hair and body, during which time the two chat constantly about topics that girls talk about.

When Ino's questioning gaze fell on a certain spot on Hinata crossed her arms and blushed.

With a splash, Ino leaned against the edge of the bathtub, and Hinata slowly sat down in the water as well, the clear water rippling gently. Gazing at the bathroom ceiling, Ino suddenly sighed and said...

"Life is indeed a race; some run fast, and some run slow."

Hinata blushed to the roots of her ears upon hearing this.

Looking at Ino, he suddenly felt a pang of envy, and though he thought it in his heart, he actually said it out loud.

"Envious of me?" Ino looked up, weighed her own weight, and then looked at Hinata. "What do I have that you could envy?"

It's already embarrassing enough to accidentally blurt out your innermost thoughts, but right now Hinata just wants to suffocate in the bathtub, her face so red it could bleed.

But after thinking about it, I realized that since I'd already said it, there was no reason to leave it unsaid.

So, relying on the courage that had been slowly building up since who knows when, he began to speak in a low, stuttering voice, starting from the very first second.

"I envy you for being liked by others."

"I have quite a few people who like me." Ino's face remained calm upon hearing this, and she leaned back against the edge of the bathtub. "It's probably because I don't make things difficult for others."

"That is, being able to read the atmosphere and say the right thing at the right time."

Ino completely relaxed, her body immersed in the hot water, as if floating on the sea, her eyes half-closed as she gazed at the overhead light emitting a bright yellow glow.

"Everyone has a personality, whether they are round, flat, or square, but I don't think I have one."

Hinata blinked, wondering if Ino had misunderstood and that's not what she meant. But seeing Ino had started talking, Hinata could only listen quietly.

With a splash, Ino, her pale arms stirring the hot water in the bathtub, continued speaking.

"Having no personality isn't a good thing either. While it's easy to get praise for being thoughtful and considerate, it's also easy to feel suppressed. It's like you can do anything, and do whatever you want."

"I believe that no matter what, someone will like me in the future. As long as I show my understanding side, I will receive countless compliments."

"Isn't this good?" Hinata said softly. "I actually envy Ino for this. I can never satisfy and gain my father's approval no matter what."

"Of course that's not good." Ino turned to look at Hinata, then, with half of her body out of the water, she leaned against the edge of the bathtub and said with a smile.

"It's easy to lose yourself. You always try to understand others' perspectives, but sometimes you want to be a little willful but then you find it too troublesome."

"It's like there's a voice in my ear saying, 'You have to be obedient, considerate, and understanding.' But all I want to do is cry. I can't find a corner to cry in, so I just keep hiding."

"I think one day, someone even brighter than me will stand in front of me and ask me if I'm sad, if I want to cry, if I want to have a birthday that's just for me."

As she spoke the latter part, Ino suddenly choked up and buried herself in the bathtub.

Hinata watched, and suddenly felt a pang of sadness. She didn't know whether to feel sorry for Ino or for herself. She didn't dare hug anyone else, so she hugged herself against the edge of the bathtub.

It slowly sank.

She suddenly realized that Ino knew the meaning behind her words from the very beginning. How cunning! Ino clearly knew that she was liked, but she still said those things.

She had been too slow to realize it; those words, which were tantamount to a confession, had slowly turned from dull knives into real ones. They were laid bare before her very eyes, leaving her no way to escape.

Hinata knows everything now, but she only became true friends with Ino today, and now she's about to have another argument that isn't really an argument.

It's too cruel and too torturous, but this is the one thing Hinata doesn't want to give up on.

The desire to understand her own heart was an obsession that lingered in her mind, something she wanted to do even though she was timid. She wanted to find out if Naruto was still the person with a bright heart.

The only difference is that the person being illuminated is no longer her; it's Ino.

But Naruto seemed to have taken care of her in the same way, so she wasn't without memories. Small, fragmented memories surfaced in her mind, Hinata gradually felt herself coming back to her senses.

I didn't dislike leaning against his back, nor did I dislike having my hand held. My heart was pounding, regardless of his personality; that's what liking someone is.

Whether in the past or in the present.

The wind was scorching, her lover's hands were warm, and her heart pounded wildly with every brief moment of contact; the body doesn't lie.

The bathroom was filled with thick steam, and the dim yellow light faintly illuminated the general outlines of the two women.

With a whoosh, Hinata suddenly stood up and looked at Ino.

"Whether I like my past personality or my current personality, it doesn't matter. What's important is that I still don't dislike any of them."

Ino stared at her blankly, somewhat confused.

But as I slowly came to my senses, I realized...

So she kept thinking about what happened in the tent, all the way until she came up with a suitable answer.

Outside the bathroom door.

Water was boiling in the kitchen, and soup was simmering in a pot. The balcony window was wide open, and Nine-Tails retreated to a corner, dodging a possible backflip backstab from a human.

After changing his clothes and working for a long time, Naruto lay on the sofa, yawning, his eyelids heavy.

He hadn't expected the two girls to chase after him. The unexpected turn of events caught Naruto off guard. Right now, he just wanted to make sure they didn't catch a cold and didn't want to feel guilty or uneasy about it.

Autumn is almost here, followed by winter snow and the New Year Festival.

Time flies so fast, it seems to wait for no one.

Half-asleep, Naruto suddenly heard the door open, but because Ino and Hinata had been taking a long bath, he temporarily forgot about them.

He squinted, his eyes barely open, and saw two women secretly pointing and whispering at him. He was stunned. It took him a while to remember what was happening, and he immediately sat up.

Naruto suddenly sat up from the sofa as if a corpse had come back to life, startling the two women.

"Are you trying to die?!" Ino said, clutching her chest.

"I just opened my eyes and I saw you guys plotting against me. You guys are really something..." Before Naruto could finish speaking, Ino pounced on him and slapped him hard across the mouth.

"Stop talking!"

"I'm suffocating! Let go!"

"Then you're not allowed to say anything strange!" Ino warned, "Especially not about me."

"I'm not that kind of person," he said. "But what were you talking about in the bathroom? And why did it take so long?"

Hmm, Hinata blushed.