Don't Be Shameless

At the entrance to the estate, Tsunade looked at Dan Katō impatiently. "What did you call me out here for?"

Dan Katō took a necklace from his pocket and stammered, "Tsunade, actually, I prepared another birthday present for you..."

"No need." Tsunade cut him off. "One present from you is enough."

With that, she turned to go back inside.

Dan Katō gritted his teeth, then suddenly steeled himself. "Tsunade."

"What is it now?"

Tsunade frowned. She didn't want to waste time on someone unimportant.

"There's something I've wanted to tell you for a long time." Dan Katō bared his heart. "I'm worried that if I don't say it tonight, I may never get another chance."

"I like you. I've been quietly watching you from afar for a long time. If you think I'm worthy, I hope you'll give me a chance and go out with me!"

Taking a desperate gamble, Dan Katō bowed deeply and held out the necklace in his hand.

Tsunade turned around, her beautiful eyes full of displeasure as she looked down at him.

Just as she was about to reject him, footsteps suddenly sounded nearby. The two of them looked over and saw Watanabe and Nawaki come into view.

"Uh..."

The four of them stared at one another, all shaken to the core.

"I—I didn't see anything!"

Nawaki had just finished telling Watanabe a whole pile of dirt about Tsunade. Afraid his sister might silence him, he hurriedly turned and walked away at a brisk pace.

Watanabe hadn't expected to stumble upon a scene like this. Awkwardly, he rubbed his nose. "Sorry to interrupt. Carry on."

As he spoke, he turned to leave too.

Carry on, my ass!

Tsunade was so furious her chest practically grew a whole cup size. Without another word, she chased after Watanabe.

Dan Katō stood there looking bewildered, the necklace in his hand cold to the bone.

He had a feeling he might never get another appearance in the story.

When Nawaki saw his sister coming after him, he was so scared he nearly bolted. He hurriedly explained, "Sis, I really didn't see anything!"

At the same time, he muttered to himself, There are so many people these days who aren't afraid of death. One after another, they all want to be my brother-in-law. My sister really doesn't mess around when she beats people up.

Tsunade glared at him, exasperated. "Grandma's been looking all over for you. Why are you running around outside instead of entertaining the guests?"

"Oh, right. I'm going back now."

Nawaki took the opening she gave him and hurriedly fled home.

Once Nawaki was gone, only Watanabe and Tsunade remained on the street. Both fell silent.

Watanabe didn't know what to say. He'd always thought of Tsunade as a friend, but after seeing Dan Katō confess to her, he felt strangely unsettled.

If Tsunade accepted Dan Katō, she and Watanabe definitely wouldn't be as close as they'd been before.

"Aren't you going back?" Tsunade spoke first, glancing sideways at him.

She figured Watanabe was probably upset. And, really, how could he not care about something like that?

Tsunade thought she understood Watanabe's feelings very well. He'd gone to such lengths to get close to her, invited her to meals, and sparred with her. What could that be if not love?

His confession had far more depth than Dan Katō's.

"No." Watanabe shook his head. "I'm full. I have school tomorrow, so I should go home and get some rest."

He's upset after all.

Tsunade became even more certain. Her displeasure vanished at once, and she tried to reassure Watanabe, explaining of her own accord, "Dan Katō just confessed to me, and I turned him down."

Watanabe breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. You definitely can't accept him."

Tsunade found that amusing and asked, though she already knew the answer, "Were you worried I'd accept him?"

"Of course I was." Watanabe answered solemnly. "Tsunade, you're still young. You're not old enough to date, and it'd be easy for someone to trick you with sweet talk. Whether it's Dan Katō or anyone else who confesses to you, you can't accept. At the very least, you should wait until you're an adult."

Watanabe felt that, as Tsunade's only male best friend, it was his duty to help her avoid the risks of dating. Besides, the longer Tsunade waited to get into a relationship, the longer their friendship would last. They could keep sparring every day. Every word he said came straight from the heart.

Tsunade heard the tension in Watanabe's voice and understood how much he cared about her. Warmth bubbled up inside her.

"So you mean I can accept Dan Katō once I'm an adult?" Tsunade teased him on purpose, wanting to keep him nervous a little longer.

Watanabe thought it over, then shook his head anyway. "Still no."

"Why not?"

Watanabe explained, "Dan Katō's not good enough. If you're going to get a boyfriend, Tsunade, you should find someone who's the best of the best. Dan Katō can't even rank first in our class. He's not worthy of you."

Tsunade considered that. "By that logic, Orochimaru's pretty impressive. He's the only one in our class who can match me."

"Orochimaru's even worse!" Watanabe shook his head like a rattle drum.

"Sure, Orochimaru's talented, but he's gloomy and so quiet you'd have to wait forever to get a word out of him. You'd be bored to death if you got together with him."

Tsunade was about to speak, but Watanabe had already guessed what she wanted to say and cut in first. "Don't say Jiraiya. His personality is fine, but he's such a lecher. He's absolutely, definitely not good enough for you!"

Watanabe had no qualms about badmouthing his classmates behind their backs. After all, he was thinking about Tsunade's future.

Tsunade was both annoyed and amused. Watanabe had rejected every rival, clearly trying to put himself forward. She wasn't about to let him have his way, so she deliberately didn't take the bait.

When Tsunade stayed quiet, Watanabe thought she'd taken his words to heart and continued, "So you can't accept anyone's advances right now. You need to find a boyfriend who's talented, kind, handsome, and has good character. Take your time. There's no rush."

Tsunade rolled her eyes at him. "You shameless thing."

But inwardly, she was thinking how cunning Watanabe was, praising himself so brazenly.

"What did I do that was shameless?"

Watanabe was baffled.

We're talking about you finding a boyfriend. Why are you suddenly insulting me?

"You know what you did."

Tsunade rolled her eyes at him again. Only she knew how sweet she felt inside.

Watanabe was the one who pursued me first. I even brought him to meet Grandma officially tonight. I might as well say yes.

"I know what I did?"

Watanabe looked thoroughly confused. He honestly had no idea what Tsunade was hinting at.

He was about to press her for an answer when he turned and saw Tsunade take out a scroll. She pulled two plates of cake, sealed ahead of time, from inside it.

"Here. This is for you."

Tsunade handed him one plate. Watanabe recognized the cake at a glance: he'd made it himself.

"When did you put two plates in your scroll?" he asked curiously.

"Why are you asking so many questions? Just enjoy the cake."

She wasn't about to tell Watanabe that she'd put the part decorated with her cartoon portrait into the scroll. She wanted to keep it safe and hold on to it.

After all, it was her favorite birthday present.

Watanabe wisely didn't ask again. He and Tsunade enjoyed the cake's sweetness together.