Anko: Who would fall for someone who abandoned them!!

"Is Asuma finally going back to the village?! When? In the next few days?!"

Upon hearing this exciting news, Kakashi's eyes widened instinctively, and he asked excitedly.

Hong nodded vigorously, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Yes! He's traveling at full speed right now, and should be back in the next day or two."

Her voice trembled slightly, but the corners of her mouth curved into an irrepressible smile.

"Really... That's wonderful!"

Kakashi looked at Kurenai's face, which was slightly flushed under the streetlight, and gently offered his blessing:

"You two are finally able to meet again! Congratulations, Hong!"

"Um!"

Why are you all so happy?!

Looking at Kakashi and Kurenai, who were overjoyed at the news of Asuma's impending return, Anko said indignantly:

"Don't you guys have any complaints about Asuma at all?!"

He abandoned Kurenai, leaving her alone in Konoha, and for five whole years he didn't come back even once, except to write letters!

Anko grew increasingly angry as she spoke, jumped off the bench, clenched her fist, and swung it forcefully in the air:

"If it were me, I would never forgive such an outrageous person!"

If I were Red Sister, I would definitely give that bastard Asuma a good beating until he cried and begged for forgiveness!

If he doesn't realize his mistake, he will never learn to cherish what he has!

Anko spoke angrily, but the anger in her voice subsided without her realizing it.

She looked at her clenched and unclenched fists, a hint of muffled resentment creeping into her voice that she herself didn't even realize:

"In the end, that guy wasn't any good either..."

I really don't understand what Asuma was thinking. He abandoned Kurenai, such a good person, in Konoha, and then went all over the Ninja World looking for that bastard.

That guy is such a jerk who disappears without a word, so why does everyone seem to have no resentment towards him at all? I really don't understand..."

Anko instinctively reached out to her side, only to find nothing on the empty bench.

She then remembered that the dessert buddy who would often stay by her side and show off her dumplings when she was in a bad mood... was long gone.

Anko sheepishly withdrew her hand, then puffed out her cheeks in anger, lowered her head, and stopped talking.

Kakashi and Kurenai looked at Anko, who was both angry and aggrieved, and exchanged a helpless glance.

Clearly, such scenes have played out countless times in the five years since Kou left, and they have long since become accustomed to them.

Kakashi's gaze fell on Anko's still-puffed-out cheeks as he softly comforted her:

"Alright, Anko, didn't I already tell you about meeting Kouchi in the Land of Water?"

You should be able to understand why he left Konoha now.

Anko's delicate body trembled, and her hands, which were hanging at her sides, had clenched tightly without her noticing, leaving a faint red mark on her palm.

She turned her head abruptly, her eyes red-rimmed, and said in a muffled voice:

"Pshaw! I don't care what his reasons were! Anyway, he left without saying a word, and then we couldn't find a trace of him for the past five years, making us worry about him for nothing... That's his fault!!"

Hongxin reached out and gently placed her hand on Anko's still slightly trembling fist, comforting her in a soft voice:

"Okay, Anko, don't think like that."

He must have his reasons for knocking on your door; you should know him well, after all...

"You've been keeping Asma's fan club running all these years since Asuma left, haven't you?"

You still... like the one who knocks, don't you?"

Anko's eyes widened suddenly, and her fair face instantly turned bright red.

She sprang up from the bench, staring at Hong as if she were a heinous traitor, and stammered:

"Who, who would fall for someone who abandoned them?!"

Even if I, Mitarashi Anko, starve to death, or jump off the Hokage Rock, I will never eat three-colored dumplings again in my life, and I will never forgive that idiot Uchiha Kuro!!

... Absolutely not!!

Looking at the "unyielding" Anko in front of her, Hong suppressed the almost uncontrollable smile on her lips and sighed with feigned regret:

"Is that so? If that's the case, then that's a real shame."

Anko:...꒰꒪꒫꒪⌯꒱

She stealthily moved half an inch closer to Hong, cautiously probing:

"Sister Hong, what do you mean by this?"

Hong looked at her with a smile:

"It's nothing, it's just that Asuma's letters to me contained quite a few things about Koko."

About 80% of the text is about Kou.

She deliberately ignored Anko's pitiful gaze, stood up, stretched languidly, and continued casually:

"Well, since you don't seem to care that much about Koko's matter, there's no need to continue this conversation."

It's getting late, so let's head back soon."

As she spoke, Kurenai turned her head and gave Kakashi a meaningful smile:

"Regarding the matter of Koto, I'll talk to Kakashi about it privately when I report to the Jonin Commander tomorrow."

However, just as Hong was about to get up and leave, a small, fair hand trembled and grabbed the hem of her clothes.

"Sigh, this child, how come their expression changed so quickly?"

Hong murmured helplessly to herself, then turned around.

However, the scene before her eyes instantly froze the teasing smile on her lips.

On the bench, Anko was looking up at her, her big eyes, which were usually full of smiles and energy, were now brimming with tears.

The glistening, translucent tears slid down her fair cheeks, gathering into droplets that silently fell onto her rounded bosom.

"Hong, Sister Hong... please, please tell me, how is that bastard doing now...?"

Is he still alive? Is he safe? Is he eating well?

Is he really happy now? Is he happier than when he was in Konoha, when he was with us?

Anko whispered, her voice trembling with sobs, her whole body shaking violently.

Under Kakashi's speechless gaze that seemed to say, "Look what you've done," Kurenai quickly pulled the sobbing Anko into her arms.

Her chin rested on Anko's still slightly trembling dark purple short hair, and she gently patted her back, her voice full of regret and heartache:

"I'm sorry, Anko, I shouldn't have joked like that with you."

I'll tell you everything about Kou now, okay? Don't cry anymore, or your eyes will get swollen.

Anko buried her face in Hong's shoulder and choked out:

"No, it's not your fault, Sister Hong, it's my fault, I'm so spineless!"

Even though she's already Jonin, she can't even control her emotions; she can't help but want to cry whenever that bastard is mentioned...

I tried, but... but I just couldn't do it!

Anko clutched Hong's clothes even tighter; the helplessness and grievance in her sobs revealed a vulnerability she had never shown to anyone.

"Waaah... I really don't understand, why did he defect!"

When Orochimaru Teacher me, during my most fearful and painful times, he was always by my side...

I finally fell in love with him, but why did he leave without a word?

I knocked on his door, why did he abandon me again?!

"Waaaaah!! I don't understand, I really don't understand!!!"

Hong frantically tried to comfort Anko, instinctively wanting to ask the silver-haired ninja who should have been standing beside her for help.

But when she turned her gaze to the direction where Kakashi had just stood to the west, the place was already deserted.

Clearly, Kakashi chose to open Jun when his comrades were in the most danger.

"Kakashi!!"

Hong gritted her teeth and made a mental note of this debt, then hugged the still-crying Anko even tighter.

Under the streetlights, Anko's usually bright and spirited eyes were now red and swollen from crying.

Her eyes, reddened by tears, remained stubbornly open, as if waiting for an answer she knew would never come.

On a bench in the street, bathed in yellow light, Hong gently patted her back, and fond memories of her childhood involuntarily surfaced in her mind...

At the dango shop in Konoha's snack street, amidst cheers from the crowd, Koko and Anko fought over the last skewer of dango across a table full of empty plates.

Kou Mingming got it first, but after seeing Anko's puffed-up eyes, he silently slowed down. Then, he exaggeratedly sighed as if his prize had been snatched away, and then watched with a helpless smile as Anko triumphantly held up her spoils...

"Oh, Koko, you really are a... deeply sinful fellow!"

Hong sighed silently in her heart and hugged the sobbing girl in her arms even tighter.

Unbeknownst to Kurenai, the deeply sinful man she spoke of was, under the cover of night, impatiently and rapidly approaching Kakashi's residence...

(I guess I still prefer writing something twisted)