Returning to Konoha.
Hyuga Bin went home and spent a day recuperating first, then began his daily life in Konoha the following day.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had given him a full twenty days of leave, enough for him to truly relax properly.
Now that he was back in the village, Hyuga Bin had no intention of reporting to Sarutobi Hiruzen and ending his vacation early.
He had not rested properly in the past four years. Whenever there was an injured person, he had to rush over immediately to treat them, and he had no idea how many times Momonoki Kano had dragged him out of bed in the middle of the night.
Even twenty-odd days of rest would not be enough for him to recover mentally.
Early in the morning, Hyuga Bin headed straight for the familiar food street and began a morning-long culinary journey.
Unlike most times, when Hyuga Bin ate alone, he unexpectedly ran into Kurenai Yuhi at a dessert shop this time, and they shared a table.
"Bin, do you like this shop's sweets too?" Kurenai Yuhi asked Hyuga Bin with a smile.
"Yeah, I really like their three-color mochi." Hyuga Bin nodded.
After not seeing Kurenai Yuhi for several years, Hyuga Bin realized that she no longer looked like the little girl she had once been.
Kurenai Yuhi was wearing makeup and lipstick today. She no longer looked so young and had begun to carry the air of an adolescent girl.
If he had been eighteen again, he probably would have felt a little drawn to her.
After all, the more innocent a face was, the more it could evoke the feeling of a first love.
"It's strange that we never ran into each other before." Kurenai Yuhi sounded a little surprised.
"I usually came here in the mornings. You used to come in the afternoons, right?" Hyuga Bin thought of the reason they had never encountered each other.
"That's right. Our schedules just happened to miss each other."
Kurenai Yuhi smiled in response, then continued, "Bin, since we happened to meet today, there's something I wanted to tell you."
"Mm, go ahead." Hyuga Bin nodded.
"This Saturday, we're having a class reunion." Kurenai Yuhi voiced her idea. "It's been so many years since graduation, and none of our classmates have had a proper gathering."
"Are there many of our classmates in the village lately?" Hyuga Bin asked curiously.
"Since the war with Sunagakure ended, most of our classmates have been home recently. Even if they're going to the front lines, it won't be until twenty days from now, when the village makes unified arrangements." Since Kurenai Yuhi had been in the village lately, she knew what was going on.
"Sure, I'm free this Saturday." Hyuga Bin nodded, then asked, "Is Asuma organizing the reunion?"
"Mm, yes. The classmates in the village were all notified a few days ago." Kurenai Yuhi had wanted to notify Hyuga Bin earlier, but whenever she asked, he had not returned to the village yet.
"Are you planning to use this class reunion to announce your relationship?" Hyuga Bin teased Kurenai Yuhi.
Sarutobi Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi had been lovers in the Naruto world as well. After Sarutobi Asuma died in battle, Kurenai Yuhi even gave birth to his daughter, naming her Sarutobi Mirai.
Although little Mirai looked somewhat like Uchiha Shisui... that did not change the fact that Sarutobi Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi truly loved each other and were married.
"Bin, Asuma and I aren't dating." Upon hearing Hyuga Bin's words, Kurenai Yuhi denied it decisively, as if she were afraid he might misunderstand.
"Kurenai, sorry, I got it wrong." Hyuga Bin apologized with a smile.
Back when they were at the Ninja Academy, Sarutobi Asuma had made it clear that he wanted to pursue Kurenai Yuhi. Several years had passed since then, and combined with the original story, Hyuga Bin naturally assumed they were already together.
Unexpectedly, he had been mistaken.
It was almost Konoha Year 47, yet Sarutobi Asuma still had not won over Kurenai Yuhi.
"Bin, Asuma did confess to me, but I turned him down." Seeing that Hyuga Bin did not seem to care, Kurenai Yuhi spoke again.
"Why? I think Asuma's a pretty good guy." Hyuga Bin did not understand.
As classmates, Hyuga Bin was somewhat familiar with Sarutobi Asuma.
As the Hokage's son, Sarutobi Asuma did not have the arrogance and domineering attitude of a second-generation heir. He was also very good to Kurenai Yuhi, making him a fairly decent boy.
Besides, in the original story, the two of them had ended up together and seemed deeply in love. Even after Sarutobi Asuma died, Kurenai Yuhi had not remarried anyone else.
"Asuma is quite good, but I don't like him, so I can't accept his feelings." Kurenai Yuhi gave her reason.
"If you don't like him, being together would indeed be forcing it." Hyuga Bin agreed with Kurenai Yuhi's view.
Love should never be settled for.
But if that was the case, had Kurenai Yuhi ultimately forced herself to be with Sarutobi Asuma?
"Enough about me. What about you? Have you been dating anyone lately?" Kurenai Yuhi smiled and shifted the topic to Hyuga Bin.
"No. I haven't met anyone suitable yet." Hyuga Bin shook his head.
Both physically and mentally, he had reached the stage where he could date, yet he had not met a girl he could like and pursue.
"Bin, tell me what kind of girls you like. Maybe there's someone suitable around me, and I can introduce her to you." Kurenai Yuhi continued asking with a smile.
"Gentle girls, I suppose. I don't really like girls who are too violent." Hyuga Bin thought for a moment before answering.
"Gentle... that's far too broad a category." Kurenai Yuhi found it difficult to glean any useful information from that single word.
"It mostly depends on the feeling." After speaking, Hyuga Bin added, "Whether there's a moment that makes my heart flutter."
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