Natsuhi's Barbecue: Amid Light and Shadow, Through Long Years, All I Wish for My Boy Is a Peaceful Life

Without hesitation, he opened his mouth and swallowed the roasted meat whole.

The streetlights flickered, creating a lively atmosphere, and the streetlights shone like ribbons of light. Ino covered her mouth with one hand, her peach blossom eyes like crescent moons.

Her smile was clean and warm, with a touch of everyday life, and she looked at him with a smug expression.

"Is it tasty?"

"Hmm." He lowered his eyelids and a smile appeared on his face.

He's not the kind of person who can't lower himself to coax people. Even if he hasn't done anything wrong, he doesn't mind admitting his mistake; it's just a matter of saying a few words.

For him, admitting mistakes and flirting weren't mutually exclusive. Ino was easily swayed; a little coaxing would cheer her up. The joys of youth are fleeting, easily fleeting.

More importantly, Ino responds; every word she says gets a response. It's like throwing a pebble into a deep pool—no matter how long it takes, there will be an echo; she doesn't just let it go unnoticed.

This serious attitude is very comforting, and the occasional little temper tantrum is harmless.

"How did you get transferred to the Hokage Building?" He leaned back in his chair, the Kakkō in the distance dancing in his eyes, his forehead white, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"I was rejected, huh?" Ino shoved a piece of grilled meat into her mouth, her lips glistening with oil, and chewed it in big, defiant bites, as if in a huff.

"Who could dislike you? You're so popular that people have even followed you to the store entrance, huh?" He glanced at Ino sideways and said lazily.

"You still remember that?" Ino felt a little guilty, but then she thought that she hadn't done anything, so she straightened her head and puffed out her chest. "I didn't want to either, and I've already clearly refused."

"Mm," he replied.

Ino watched him reach for the drink, his slender, pale fingers gently hooking the cup in his hand. This gesture sent a shiver down her spine, as if his fingers were hooking into her heart.

She looked away, but her thoughts wandered like ivy. His hands looked so beautiful; it would feel so good to be caressed by those fingertips.

My fingertips traced delicate lines along my spine, from my shoulder blades down to my collarbone, and then down.

What are you thinking?

"Ah!" Ino almost fell off her chair. Realizing what she had just thought, she was too embarrassed to look at him, let alone his hands.

"No!! It's nothing!! I just... spaced out, haha."

"Work is tiring, so it's normal to get distracted occasionally," he said.

"Yes, yes," Ino said with a slightly guilty smile. "It must be because I'm too tired from work. It's all my father's fault for insisting on transferring me from the Intelligence Department."

"Aren't you taking your work seriously?"

"No way!" she retorted, raising her chopsticks and taking a big gulp of her drink before slamming it down on the table. "He actually said I'm too popular and that my presence is affecting his work!!"

"His own daughter was transferred away just like that! Really!! Such an old-fashioned man!"

Upon hearing this, Naruto's lips twitched slightly.

Thinking to himself, this is clearly taking advantage of Sakura's vacation to have your own father help you gain seniority. Besides, the Hokage's Office isn't a place that ordinary people can just hang out in.

"So how long are you going to stay in the Hokage's Office?"

"I don't know, at least wait until Sakura comes back from her vacation. But we haven't seen Sakura lately either," Ino murmured, looking at Naruto.

Have you seen Sakura recently?

"We just had lunch together today," he said directly, making no attempt to hide anything.

"Why doesn't she eat with me?" Ino pouted and frowned. "I covered her shift, shouldn't she ask me to have dinner with her?"

"Oh, she owes me a meal."

"She paid the bill?" Ino was taken aback. "She's been very stingy lately, saying she's saving up money for something big. I've been paying for all the meals she's had with me."

"I bought it; she didn't have the money," Naruto said calmly.

"What kind of invitation to dinner is this?"

"I wasn't expecting her to invite me anyway. You two are quite a match, one a beauty of the Intelligence Department and the other a beauty of the Medical Unit," he said casually.

"Really? Which one do you prefer?" Ino asked, cupping her face in her hands.

"Um?"

"Oh, by the way, including Hinata, who do you like more?"

"You."

"That's so perfunctory," Ino scoffed, carefully blowing on her drink. "But hearing you say that makes me quite happy, don't you think?"

She looked up, but froze.

Naruto was looking at her and smiling, his eyes reflecting the fervent light of fireworks. The moment their eyes met, Ino felt as if she could disregard everything else.

Promises may change, people's hearts may change, but the sincerity of youth will never change. At this moment, she knew that whatever the answer was, it didn't matter anymore.

She had seen Naruto's lazy demeanor in the old-fashioned apartment a few years ago, and she had seen his gloomy, triangular eyes on the street, his whole being like a scarred, hidden beast.

It wasn't until Lord Tsunade arrived that things took a turn for the better. The problems she couldn't solve were resolved one by one over time, and he finally became a normal person as he had wished.

Looking at the peaceful and warm smile in his eyes, Ino truly hoped that all discrimination and injustice in the world would disappear, and that all hatred would stay away from him.

May he always walk on the bustling avenue, far from all illness and misfortune, overcoming all sorrow and separation, while she, in the sea of people, tells him she loves him.

If the person she met was an ordinary boy, she would want to possess him. But if it were Naruto, she would only hope that the world would treat him as kindly as it had treated her.

And she understood that regardless of whether she approached him, as long as he stood there, someone would love him. No one asked him to be dazzlingly brilliant, only that he live a peaceful and happy life.

"I'm so full," she said, leaning back in her chair, gazing at the starry sky above and touching her slightly protruding belly. "You'll pick me up from get off work tomorrow, right?"

"If you want, you can accept it every day," he said casually. "After all, you have so many suitors, it's good to keep some on your side."

"Oh! Then you have to come every day!" Ino's mood suddenly improved because of this sentence. She smiled and gently kicked him with her foot while drinking her beverage.

The evening breeze, carrying a wisp of heat, rustled the leaves of the trees. The aroma of the sun-baked meat was overwhelmed by the smoky scent of barbecue, and the air, once it filled the lungs, carried only a faint, lingering sweetness.

The atmosphere was just right, with the noise of the crowd on the street drifting in from a distance. Neither of them spoke, and their snow-white feet gently brushed against his trouser leg.

Until smiles appeared on their faces, they gazed at each other for a long time, their unspoken feelings gradually building up. It was like building a mountain with sand in a game of make-believe, carefully yet greedily wanting to pile up more and higher.

In that intense, almost naked gaze, Ino gave in, letting out a long sigh, "You bastard, how many girls have you fooled? Your eyes are practically drooling!"