The Hokage household's dinner table was always far too lively. Himawari was incredibly enthusiastic about the new "Big Sister Kiyomi," and kept piling food into her bowl. Kiyomi looked at the mountain of food and didn't know what to do.
"Eat more. You're too thin." Hinata smiled gently as she ladled soup into Kiyomi's bowl.
Kiyomi sipped her soup. The steam rose against her face, misting her eyelashes. Being surrounded by the aroma of food felt completely different from the cold Nutrient Solution in the Laboratory.
"Hey, that's my meat!" Boruto's shout broke the cozy atmosphere.
"Did you write your name on it?" Kawaki asked expressionlessly as he stuffed the last piece of beef into his mouth, chewing loudly.
"You jerk!" Boruto made a grab for it, and the two of them started horsing around at the table.
Naruto watched them, laughing carefreely. Kiyomi turned and looked out at the quiet street. If not for that "twenty-year-old" curse, could this kind of life go on forever?
After dinner, Kiyomi sat in the hallway of the old Hokage residence. Kawaki sat not far away, examining the bottle of blue pills Amado had given him in the moonlight.
"Here." Kawaki tossed the bottle to her.
Kiyomi caught it, feeling the pills rattle softly inside. "Amado said these are my lifeline."
"And you believe him?" Kawaki snorted. "That old man is best at turning people into his pawns. But until we find a better solution, you need to take them on schedule."
Kiyomi opened the bottle and tipped out a blue pill. It gave off a faint bitter smell. She put it in her mouth and swallowed it without water.
"Bitter?" Kawaki asked.
"I'm used to it," Kiyomi said softly. "In Amegakure, we had to take pills of all sorts of colors every