Making Up

Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the wooden staircase on the second floor. The noblewoman looked up at the sound and a gentle smile appeared on her face.

"Ino, aren't you going on a mission tomorrow?"

"I can't sleep." Ino, wearing loose pajamas, rubbed her eyes, looking somewhat haggard. "I'll watch the shop. Mother, go and rest."

"Is everything alright?" Yamanaka Rino asked.

The shop was brightly lit, with fresh flowers neatly arranged on the shelves, and moths fluttering around the light fixtures. As night fell and the street grew noisier, sounds slowly seeped in through the glass doors of the shop.

It was pitch black outside, but you could see the Great Green Tree outside the shop standing silently in the dim yellow light.

Ino turned her gaze away and said with a smile.

"Yes, it's alright, Mother. We have plenty of time as we're going on a mission tomorrow afternoon."

Yamanaka Rino nodded, got up from behind the counter, and went upstairs. Ino sat down in a chair and picked up a book, reading absentmindedly.

The shop was quiet, and she stared at a line of text in the book, slightly lost in thought.

After the camping trip ended, nothing seemed to have changed. Iruka gave excellent ratings on almost everyone's assessment records, except for Naruto.

She regretted being impulsive that day. In fact, upon closer reflection, she realized there was no need to say those unnecessary things.

The profession of ninja is far too risky; the higher the expectations, the more likely things are to go wrong. There's still a long time ahead, and nobody knows what the future holds.

But words spoken are like water spilled; they cannot be taken back.

Thinking back to what happened that day, Ino couldn't help but sigh. At the time, things had completely spiraled out of her control, and she had blurted out some things without thinking.

Ding-a-ling, the shop door was opened.

"Welcome." Ino looked up, but stopped abruptly halfway through her sentence.

The late autumn nights were still cool, making people prone to laziness. With a creak, Naruto pushed open the door of the Yamanaka Flower Shop, and the noise of the street outside immediately flooded into the shop.

Ino looked at the newcomer with a complicated expression. The person had messy blond hair, wore a loose white short-sleeved shirt, and casually put on a pair of trousers. He wasn't wearing Forehead Protector, which revealed his smooth forehead.

He carried a food box, had long arms and legs, and had indeed grown very tall recently. He didn't take full strides when he walked, and his blue eyes, hidden beneath his blond hair, slowly fixed on Ino's face.

Then his pupils contracted slightly, and he smiled confidently.

Under the bright yellow light, Ino couldn't help but want to laugh, but she held it in. She pushed the book in front of her forward, pouted slightly, and said irritably.

"Don't stay here if you're not going to buy flowers."

"Buy it." Naruto leaned over, placed the food box on the counter, and lazily found a high chair to sit opposite Ino. "I'll buy whichever flower you like."

I like them all.

"Then I'll buy them all."

"Tch." Ino muttered, "I've seen too many flowers. It doesn't matter what you give me. I advise you not to waste your energy."

"Then let's send some food," Naruto said.

Ino glanced at him sideways, then leaned against the counter, propping her head up with her hand, and glanced at Naruto. She looked out the window, then her gaze returned, lingering on the food box for two seconds.

What is that?

"I just got back from a mission and haven't eaten yet, so I brought you some food. I'll have some too." Naruto spoke the truth without even blinking.

"Shouldn't you say this was specially brought for me?" Ino frowned, looking displeased with his attitude. "Even though saying it like that makes me feel a little disgusted."

"But your truth sounds even more infuriating."

"I'm hungry," Naruto said. "If I say that, you'll definitely try to stop me from eating. Maybe you'll even force me to finish what I've already eaten."

"Hmph, you think too badly of me." Ino turned her head and said with a hint of smugness, "Sorry, I have absolutely no appetite right now."

"Good."

Naruto sat down directly opposite Ino, slowly opened the food box, and began to place a dish, a soup, and a fruit platter on the counter.

"The food is too simple," Ino said casually, picking up her book again and sitting back down. "It looks like it was made in a rush."

"This is the limit of what I can do in cooking." Naruto didn't eat it right away, but looked at Ino and asked, "But I suddenly want to know what Ino thinks of this dish."

Is this a hint that I should take a bite?

"Not really. If you can taste the flavor just by smelling it, then you don't need to go through all that trouble."

"Your reason is too far-fetched. If that's the case, I won't eat a single bite." Ino's eyes swept over that page many times, but she didn't read a single word.

"Actually, I don't care about your opinion, Ino. I just want you to have a taste so I can find a reason to take advantage of you."

"Pervert!" Ino peeked out from above the book with a disdainful look. "What's going on in your head?"

Maid Outfit.

"Go to hell!" Ino threw the book at him with a thud, her face instantly turning crimson. "My mother is still upstairs, you'd better not say anything strange."

"Okay." Naruto looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing Naruto's slightly threatening yet feignedly sincere expression, she was instantly enraged. She took a few steps forward and grabbed him by the waist.

Naruto seemed to have lost all feeling of pain, picked up a piece of bacon, handed it over, and said with a smile.

"I was planning to go home and go straight to sleep, but I suddenly wanted to see you, so I came over."

"Hmm"

Ino nervously turned to look at the stairs leading to the second floor, frowned as she approached, hesitated for a moment, and then took a bite of bacon. Her cheeks puffed out slightly before she swallowed.

She lowered her voice and released her grip on Naruto's soft waist.

"I don't want to see you at all! You pervert!"

"That's a real shame. We almost fell in love." Naruto lowered his head and started eating by himself, looking like he hadn't eaten in centuries.

"Who would want to be with you? That's disgusting." Ino twisted her hands behind her back. "That day... that day's events."

"Which day?" Naruto without looking up.

"... That day at the Ninja Academy summer camp..." Ino stammered, "... I...I said a lot of strange things that day."

"Did I?" Naruto put down his chopsticks, looked up at Ino, and said lazily, "What did you say? I thought you and Hinata were teaming up to tease me."

"It wasn't really a prank. He was probably feeling unwell from being caught in the rain and said some nonsense," Ino said in a slightly awkward voice, then looked at Naruto and changed the subject.

"Let's not talk about this anymore."