After leaving the Hokage Building, everyone from Genma Team went to a barbecue restaurant to celebrate Kamizuki's successful promotion to jōnin. As the meal went on, Mai Shiranui's awkwardness around Kamizuki gradually faded.
Actually, no. It would be more accurate to say Mai had become even more clingy than before.
Perhaps it was because, from childhood, Mai had been doted on by her grandfather as the little princess of the Shiranui Clan. She was also a true prodigy of the clan, and had always carried herself with a certain pride.
This time, Kamizuki had defeated her, and she still wasn't entirely sure how she had lost.
For someone as proud as Mai, it left her feeling both unwilling to accept defeat and strangely as though she had been conquered by this man. It was all very odd, and she didn't understand it herself.
When Mai had followed him last night, Kamizuki had thought she might be working for Shimura Danzō. At the time, he had genuinely wanted to kill her.
Only after looking through Mai's memories had he discovered that she served Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third, who had acted in the interests of Konoha's safety.
Kamizuki no longer felt any resentment toward Mai for following him last night. In fact, he felt more at ease.
So when Mai was so clingy with him that evening, he merely smiled and didn't reject her advances.
Everyone in Genma Team enjoyed dinner, and after Kamizuki paid the bill, they all went their separate ways.
Kamizuki returned home alone. A member of the branch family told him that Hinata had returned from her mission, but she was exhausted and had gone straight to her room to sleep.
The night passed uneventfully...
Early the next morning, Hinata, Kamizuki, and Hanabi got up and began their