A Date

Another day of training had ended. After taking a shower and changing clothes, Gu Qi left home with the three dogs.

He bought a lot of dumplings and snacks on the street, then headed straight for the Hyuga Clan's gate.

For the past few days, Gu Qi had often brought delicious dumplings and snacks over to the Hyuga Clan.

As for his reason, everyone knew!

Gu Qi lingered outside the Hyuga Clan's gate for a long time. Thinking the little girl wouldn't come today, he was about to leave.

"G-Gu Qi-kun." Luckily, someone softly called out to him just then.

Seeing who it was, Gu Qi smiled.

"Here, have some tasty dumplings," Gu Qi said with a grin.

"Th-thank you, Gu Qi-kun." The little girl shyly accepted the snacks he offered.

Once she started eating, Gu Qi slipped right back into his chatterbox mode.

He talked about the troubles he ran into while training in ninjutsu, and how Kakashi had been single so long that it was probably messing with his head.

Whether the girl understood him or not, Gu Qi poured it all out.

The little girl was a wonderful listener. She simply ate in silence and never interrupted.

Even after finishing her snacks, she only shyly stroked Saye's fur and quietly listened to him.

"You eat so much, but you're still so tiny. Is the Main Family not giving you enough to eat?" Gu Qi suddenly asked.

"N-no, that's not it. Please don't misunderstand, Gu Qi-kun," the girl hurriedly explained.

"It's okay. If anything's wrong, you have to tell me. I'll stand up for you," Gu Qi promised, thumping his chest.

"Gu Qi-kun is so nice! But, but I'm really fine here!"

"Are you sure?" Gu Qi asked suspiciously.

Realizing it was getting late, the little girl ate her last skewer of dumplings and said, "Gu Qi-kun, I have to go. Thank you for the dumplings."

She shyly waved at Gu Qi, then jogged away.

"What a cute little girl."

After tidying up the trash, Gu Qi hurried away before the Hyuga Clan's guards could spot him.

What he didn't notice was that several Hyuga guards appeared at the gate as he left.

How could the guards have failed to notice Gu Qi meeting the little girl outside the Hyuga Clan's gate?

But since the two of them were just children, the guards had taken to hiding whenever Gu Qi showed up.

March 2, Year 52 of Konoha. Sunny.

Today was a big day for Konoha. Not long ago, the Third Hokage had announced that Konoha and Kumogakure had officially signed a peace treaty.

The streets were filled with villagers celebrating peace.

From Kakashi's departure in January to welcome Kumogakure's envoy, to the envoy crossing the Land of Fire's border in February—

After three whole months, Konoha and Kumogakure had finally reconciled and signed a treaty.

"Kakashi, how long do you think this peace will last?" Gu Qi asked. For once, he wasn't training that evening. Instead, he was strolling along the street with Kakashi, eating dumplings.

Of course, the three excited little shadows trailing behind them were there too.

Kakashi shook his head. "Who knows? Maybe ten years, maybe twenty."

For Kakashi, who had experienced the Third Shinobi World War firsthand, peace was a precious thing.

But he knew that every period of peace was just a chance to build up strength for the next war.

"Ten years or twenty, it doesn't matter. When the time comes, Kakashi, I'll protect you!" Gu Qi said with a grin.

"Haha, you'll protect me? Come back and say that after you've beaten me," Kakashi said, patting Gu Qi's head.

"Please. That'll be easy."

Kakashi ignored him. Seeing Gu Qi continue to buy snacks, he grumbled, "Hey, are you seriously going to eat all that?"

"Who said it was for me?" Gu Qi rolled his eyes, not wanting to deal with this lifelong bachelor.

"Heh. Is it for that little girl whose name you don't even know?" Kakashi couldn't even be bothered to tease him.

Kakashi had been on leave in the village lately.

And since he trained Gu Qi every evening, he knew that every few days the boy brought snacks to the Hyuga Clan's compound.

So Kakashi had tried both the carrot and the stick, and finally coaxed some surprising details out of Gu Qi.

"What would you know? A name is just a label. With the bond we share, we're destined to be together even if I don't know her name," Gu Qi retorted disdainfully.

"Heh. Ever heard of how much girls can change as they grow up? One day, she might change so much that you won't recognize her even if she's standing right in front of you," Kakashi said, trying to scare him.

"Heh. I'm not talking to you, you lifelong bachelor. At least I have a girl I can date. What about you? You've probably only got your right hand." Gu Qi glanced at Kakashi and dealt him a devastating blow.

"Cough, cough. Believe it or not, I'll cut your allowance," Kakashi threatened.

Gu Qi shot him a sidelong look. "I'm the only one in the Hatake Clan who can carry on the family line. You sure you want the Hatake Clan to die out?"

"...I'm only cutting your allowance. How is that so serious?"

"What do you know? When you take a girl out, you have to treat her to food and fun. If you cut my allowance, I won't have money to take her out.

"Then she'll leave me because you're stingy.

"Then I'll end up a bachelor just like you, and the Hatake Clan's legacy will die out because you cut my allowance.

"So tell me, is that serious or not?"

"..." Kakashi suddenly thought Gu Qi made a lot of sense and had no idea how to argue back.

"Besides, I'm a *** now." Gu Qi wasn't just bragging. Secret Recipe Dried Meat had already hit the Konoha market, and more and more ninja were buying it to keep on hand for emergencies.

"..." Kakashi suddenly realized that ever since Gu Qi had gotten rich, he could hardly keep him in line anymore.

Once Gu Qi had bought enough, he said goodbye to Kakashi. "I'm off!"

"Woof! Woof, woof!" When Ras and the others saw Gu Qi run off, they barked at Kakashi a few times, then chased after him.

Watching Gu Qi and the others disappear into the distance, the bachelor Kakashi could only pull out Icha Icha Paradise to soothe his wounded heart.

Before long, the scent of dirty flowers would probably be wafting through Kakashi's house.

By the time Gu Qi reached an alley not far from the Hyuga Clan, night had fallen.

Seeing no familiar figure outside the Hyuga Clan's gate, Gu Qi felt a little disappointed.

This wasn't the first time it had happened, but he still felt let down.

"Saye, do you think she'll show up today?" Gu Qi asked.

Saye tilted her head and looked at him innocently, showing she didn't know either.

"Forget it. I'll treat it as training! It's a good chance to see what it feels like to train my chakra outdoors," Gu Qi muttered.

Gu Qi took out some snacks to keep the three dogs occupied, then began training.

As the minutes passed, fewer and fewer people walked by.

Gu Qi was sitting in the alley, training his chakra, when he suddenly opened his eyes.

He looked up at the sky and realized it was already the middle of the night.

"Maybe she really isn't coming today!" Kakashi had actually guessed right. She hadn't come.

"With this much food, I guess I'll have to give it to Choji tomorrow," Gu Qi sighed.

"You three, wake up! Come on, let's go home and sleep." Gu Qi walked over to the drowsy dogs.

Ras, woken from his sleep, glared at Gu Qi in displeasure.

If he hadn't been too weak to beat him, Ras probably would've pounced on him right then.

Hachi and Saye were no better. They stared at Gu Qi with equally aggrieved looks, making him feel awkward.

"All right, all right, it's my fault. How about I give you the whole day off tomorrow?" Gu Qi promised.

At his words, the three dogs finally smiled happily.

After gathering his things, Gu Qi called to the three dogs and started to leave.

But just then, a figure suddenly leaped out from below the Hyuga Clan's wall.