The Joys of Youth, Fleeting Meetings and Partings, and the Warm Evening Breeze That Never Stopped

Ino's entire body went limp, and the forbidden feeling that surged into her mind instantly threw her carefully constructed rationality to the winds as she uttered, "Sister, I was wrong."

She couldn't remember what she was angry about at all, and when she tried to push him away, she found she had no strength left.

Tsunade, sitting in the chair, opened her eyes a crack, glanced at the two of them out of the corner of her eye, and then closed them again. The setting sun cast a warm glow on the breeze, lulling people to sleep.

Naruto grabbed Ino's wrist and led her out of the office, gently closing the door behind him.

In the corridor, Ino, dressed in a business suit skirt, had slender, fair wrists. It took her some effort to finally break free from his grasp, panting.

"... You!! What are you doing?!"

"Lord Tsunade said she's off work, didn't you hear that?" he said with a smile, behind him was a wide-open window, and large patches of the setting sun fell on his broad back.

She looked thin and frail, with her edges seemingly coated with a layer of gold.

"I haven't finished my work yet," she stammered, turning her head to the side, her face flushed. The phrase "sister," which had almost made her swoon, kept replaying in her mind, and her heart pounded.

I don't know where he learned that term from, but I'm definitely not going to fall for it.

"Then I'll go in with you." Naruto smiled at her. "I'll help you clean up. Anyway, I'll be with you. Otherwise, I'd just keep following you around."

The thought of Lord Tsunade Ino still resting there made Ino terrified to go back. If that person misbehaved again and caused some trouble, she would never be able to face anyone again.

"I'm not going back! I'm off work!" she said somewhat defiantly.

She didn't know why, even though she wasn't that angry. But whenever she saw him, Ino felt an urge to vent her anger, yet he always managed to brush her off so easily.

Naruto pulled her back, his eyes brimming with a smile, revealing the unique warmth of a young man. In the empty corridor, an endless warm breeze filled the air, and their shadows folded against the wall.

He pinned Ino against the wall, bringing his body close to her neck to inhale her scent, making her feel ticklish.

"Are you sulking? You've even stopped seeing me, huh? You're avoiding me."

"I didn't." Ino's mental defenses completely collapsed, her eyes filled with tears, and she retorted tremblingly, "I didn't hide from you."

"You weren't hiding from me, so why didn't you tell me you were transferred to the Hokage Building?" Naruto released her, his gaze somewhat cold, as if he might leave at any moment.

"No." Ino's voice grew softer and softer.

"Really not?" he asked, as if he would disappear the moment she nodded.

"I was a little angry, but when you were doing that in the office just now, I wasn't angry anymore," she said, looking quite embarrassed.

Hearing this, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked.

"Shall I take you out for a walk tonight?"

Where to?

"Let's just stroll around Konohagakure Street and grab something to eat," Naruto said casually, then asked, "Do we have to go to work tomorrow?"

"Mm." She nodded. "I've been a bit busy lately, so I might not get off work until very late."

"Later than today?"

"It should be around midnight. Tomorrow is the end of the month, and we need to categorize and organize the mission data, so..." Ino said in a low voice.

He only realized after hearing Ino say that it was the end of March, almost April.

"Alright, I'll come pick you up even in the middle of the night," he said, pulling Ino along as they walked outside.

"Why?" she asked in a low voice, her gaze fixed intently on the figure who was half a step ahead.

"Why so many whys? I just don't want you to come home so late alone," he said. "If I didn't know, that would be fine, but I can't just pretend I didn't hear it."

"But... what if there are times when you have to walk alone at night?" Ino followed him downstairs, her steps feeling like she was walking on cotton, her heart tightening little by little.

"Just tell me and I'll come pick you up."

"Mmm." Ino responded, feeling a little happy, like a broken cookie, the sweetness only spreading faintly in her mouth when she took a bite.

On the stairs, Naruto held her hand the whole time, walking ahead of her and a little shorter. At the turn of the stairs, their eyes met as they went up and down.

In the dimly lit, cramped space, his cool, restrained gaze made Ino skip a beat. Somehow, she understood his gaze; it was as if he wanted her.

But his gaze quickly swept down the stairs, as if he were intently watching the path.

Ino's face instantly turned bright red, as if on fire, the blush spreading all the way to her ears as she considered a certain possibility. Her teeth chattered with tension, and her heart pounded in her chest.

Konohagakure is actually quite prosperous, with a high population density and a full range of shops and stores selling daily necessities. The village's ninjas have considerable spending power, and under Tsunade's governance, it seems to be experiencing a second spring.

The bustling Konohagakure Street were brightly lit. Ino seemed a little uncomfortable with having her hand held, but after trying to break free and finding that she couldn't, she simply let him be.

"What are you so nervous about?" he asked in surprise as he turned his head.

"I didn't," she hurriedly denied.

"You're too obvious when you lie. Next time, try to cover it up a little." Naruto glanced at her slowly and found her evasive manner rather cute.

But when he thought of her expression just now, which was like that of a little girl stealing forbidden fruit for the first time, he frowned and asked another question.

Are you misunderstanding something?

"No," she denied at first, then, taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many people on the street, she leaned close to his shoulder and whispered, "Are you planning to take me to that place?"

"That thing?"

"That's right." Ino gritted her teeth, hooked Naruto's head with her snow-white hand and pulled him down, pressing her hand against his ear and covering it tightly to prevent the sound from getting out.

"**".

"Oh~!" Naruto pulled her hand away, looking at Ino with a shocked expression. "I really should have recorded this."

"You!" Ino punched him. "I was just kidding."

At the open-air barbecue stall, Ino took off her shoes, revealing her snow-white feet, which dangled under the table. After taking a bite of the juicy grilled meat and sipping her drink, a blissful smile spread across her face as she squinted her eyes.

"Ha! That feels so good!" she exclaimed. "I'm so grateful to be able to leave work on time today. I've been so exhausted these past few days."

Seeing that Ino seemed to have recovered her mood, Naruto sat there leisurely grilling meat. The early summer night was lively, with the sound of clinking glasses all around.

This did pique his interest a little; drinking in the summer certainly seemed like a good option. But then he thought that a year or two wouldn't make a difference, so he suppressed the idea.

"Ah~" Ino handed him a piece of grilled meat with a good balance of fat and lean meat, looking at him with a grin.

I need votes at the end of the month, still have some.