But... would it really cause the so-called Butterfly Effect?
Josuke didn't know. His appearance had clearly already thrown the original storyline off course. After all, if he hadn't shown up, Sakura and Ino, those Plastic Sisters, would have...
Definitely fallen out over a certain Uchiha Sasuke. But they hadn't. Instead, one liked Sasuke, and the other liked... ahem, clearly he was overthinking things again.
Still, Josuke treasured the time he had in Konoha. To be honest, he didn't know what the future held for him, either.
"Josuke..."
Ino's voice brought Josuke back from his wild imaginings.
He looked at Ino. Hadn't it been over a month since they'd last seen each other? There'd been the mission in the Land of Waves, as well as all those Genin missions catching cats and dogs.
"What's wrong?"
Josuke asked gently.
Ino smiled, then grabbed Josuke's arm and tucked it against her chest.
"Want to go get some barbecue?"
Without giving Josuke a chance to answer, Ino pulled him toward the barbecue restaurant. Josuke couldn't stop her—but he wouldn't have wanted to. Who would turn down a meal with a pretty girl?
When it came to barbecue in Konoha, you couldn't go wrong with the place Choji frequented.
As one of Ino-Shika-Cho, Ino naturally took Josuke to Konoha's most famous barbecue restaurant. As soon as they walked in, they spotted two familiar faces.
Shikamaru and Choji.
Ino looked surprised to see them.
Josuke, never one to pass up a chance to stir things up, called out,
"Hey! What are you two doing here?"
Shikamaru and Choji politely returned Josuke's greeting. Shikamaru, with an IQ of 250, immediately figured something out and looked at Ino.
He saw that her face had turned bright red.
Ino glared fiercely at Shikamaru, as if to say, "What are you looking at? Want me to hit you?"
Then she immediately found a seat with Josuke somewhere the two of them couldn't see.
After they'd gone, Shikamaru turned to Choji. "Why do you think those two came together?"
How could the adorable little Choji (and that wasn't an insult—he really had been cute as a kid) know? Most of the time, he just followed Shikamaru and Naruto around, eating snacks.
He thought it over and said, "Maybe the owner gave them a coupon?"
Shikamaru: ...Of course. It's Choji.
Fine. He shouldn't overthink it, either.
At a nearby table, Ino and Josuke felt a little awkward because of Shikamaru and Choji, and found it hard to relax.
In the end, Ino was the one who spoke first.
"Um... was the mission tough?"
Ino asked with concern.
Once Ino had spoken, Josuke no longer felt awkward.
So he told her everything they'd encountered on their trip to the Land of Waves.
He started with receiving the B-Rank Mission, then talked about the attempted assassination by ninja along the way, what happened after they reached the Land of Waves, the conspiracy they uncovered, and their fight against Zabuza and Haku.
He even told her, more or less, how the two of them had died in the end.
Ino listened attentively, quietly taking in every word Josuke said. Whenever he reached a tense part, her heart tightened, too.
When he finished, Ino let out a long breath.
"Thank goodness none of you were hurt."
Josuke nodded.
Then he asked,
"What about you, Ino?"
Ino thought for a moment.
"Me...?"
Then Ino listed off her own missions, more or less. They were mostly little jobs like catching chickens and ducks or rescuing cats and dogs.
The only one that could really be called difficult was a C-Rank mission escorting supplies. They'd run into bandits along the way, and thank goodness Teacher Asuma had been there. The three of them wouldn't have stood a chance against the other side on their own.
Josuke listened closely.
Just then, the barbecue they'd ordered arrived. Ino eagerly became a little chef, cooking for Josuke while he just had to eat.
Josuke thought that was pretty great. And so he happily dug into the barbecue Ino had grilled. The meat sizzled on the iron plate, its aroma filling the air as the Maillard reaction took place.
With Ino's skillful cooking, the delicious barbecue was soon ready. Josuke took just one bite, and the flavor spread through his mouth. It was incredibly delicious.
He had to admit, Ino was already showing signs of being a good homemaker.
"How is it? Does it taste good?"
Ino brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and asked nervously.
Josuke gave her a thumbs-up.
"It's really good! The ingredients here are fresh, and the marinade is great. Plus, Ino, you're really good at grilling. Did you learn to cook from your parents?"
Josuke asked curiously.
That made Ino a little embarrassed.
"Yes. My parents started teaching me how to cook when I was very little. Maybe you could come over to my house sometime, Josuke? Then you can try my cooking."
Ino said this with a hint of shyness.
Josuke chuckled and teased her.
"Then any guy who marries you will be incredibly lucky. He'll come home every day to a delicious meal."
Ino blushed. She could only rub her hands together, too embarrassed to know what to do.
They finished the barbecue quickly. Before long, both of them were full. Since it was getting late, Josuke had no choice but to say goodbye to Ino and head home. And just like that, the day was over.
It was probably the happiest day Josuke had had in years.
There had been no scheming, no survival of the fittest—just him and Ino.
That night, Josuke gazed up at the sky. It was full of stars, most of them with names he couldn't recognize. The only ones he could probably identify were the North Star and the Big Dipper.
He thought about what was coming next. The tense and thrilling Chunin Ninja Exams would begin before long, so he had to come up with a plan as soon as possible. Jiraiya wasn't an option.
Orochimaru would definitely try to recruit him, while he still had no idea what to do about Tsunade. But Josuke was wondering whether he should use a scheme.
As for Summoning Technique and Senjutsu, the first place Josuke ruled out was Ryūchi Cave. After all, who wanted to turn into a snake while practicing Senjutsu? He'd look hideous.
The other two sage regions were different. They had both looks and strength. So he had to think carefully before deciding where to learn Senjutsu.
But whether he could actually master it would come down to fate.
He decided not to think about it anymore. Josuke climbed into bed, pulled the covers over himself, and drifted peacefully off to sleep...
Before you continue