Curiosity

"...Eh?"

Ino couldn't help but let out a slightly impolite gasp. Although she was the one who had asked the question, she hadn't actually held any expectations.

--Yet, Naruto had answered correctly.

A massive wave of surprise surged through Ino's heart. Having loved various flower languages since she was a child, she knew this was a tiny hobby exclusive to her. She had never imagined that among her classmates, someone would notice and remember the meanings of such inconspicuous flowers, let alone that this person would be the boisterous Naruto.

Ino's light blue eyes looked at Naruto with genuine focus for the first time. Although the boy looked incredibly disheveled, perhaps due to the reflection of the setting sun, his ocean-blue pupils seemed to be glowing. It was then that Ino realized that not only was their hair color the same, but the color of their eyes was also remarkably similar.

"Um..."

Naruto, who had never been stared at so intently by a girl, tried his best to pretend to be calm when their eyes met. However, in the end, he couldn't suppress the feeling of being out of his element, and his cheeks began to tingle slightly.

--So, what was the meaning of letting out an "Eh" and then going silent? The comments were right; women are truly impossible to understand.

Naruto, having regained a bit of strength, turned his head to the side to avoid the girl's probing gaze. "Did I get it wrong?"

"Ah! No, not at all! You got it right!" Ino hurriedly replied.

"That's good." Naruto let out a small sigh of relief. "I thought I said something weird."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...?"

The breath he had just released caught in his throat again.

Naruto, with his face turned away, looked completely bewildered, not knowing why Ino had suddenly gone silent again.

According to the normal progression of things, shouldn't Ino have laughed it off and said goodbye, leaving him to continue lying there in peace?

Why was she still staring at him?

Ino did not notice the turmoil inside the heart of this "shut-in" Naruto.

Because, after realizing the long-ignored fact that her eyes were so similar to Naruto's, she finally understood what the sense of dissonance that had been lingering in her heart since their conversation began was all about.

The Naruto at school was that careless, childish, class-clown idiot who loved to sleep in class and pull pranks.

The Naruto at the food shop was someone who would be pushed down and treated with hostility for no reason; someone who could remain calm after fighting back without showing weakness, yet would make a joke about calling her Sasuke—someone who was a bit pitiful but tough, seemingly mature yet vaguely unreliable.

And the Naruto before her eyes right now was so gentle.

He understood the language of small flowers and would work hard alone until he couldn't even stand. And if Naruto wasn't lying, the fact that he could cause such great destruction to the training ground meant his strength was definitely not simple...

It wasn't just Naruto; Ino herself was confused now.

Which one of these was the real Naruto, or were none of them him? What would the real Naruto actually be like?

Ino suddenly realized with a start that she had never actually understood Naruto—this was the source of her dissonance: the Naruto of her stereotypes and the Naruto she encountered outside of school were like two different people.

But thinking about it carefully... it was normal not to understand him, right?

Although Ino didn't ostracize or dislike Naruto like some of her classmates, she had no obligation to pay attention to him either. As someone who prioritized appearances, aside from Shikamaru and Choji, the childhood friends she had known since she was little, she had only ever paid attention to Sasuke among the boys in class, and she and Naruto had always kept to their own lanes.

But now, it was different.

A sudden, irrepressible curiosity about Naruto quietly sprouted in Ino's heart.

Although it had only been half a month since graduation, Ino firmly believed that half a month was definitely not enough to cause such a massive change in a person. Therefore, there was only one truth: Naruto had been hiding his true self from everyone all along.

Why would he do that, content to play the fool at school? And why did he suddenly stop hiding it in front of her? Was his crush on Sakura also an act? That big-forehead girl was always complaining to her about him...

"Um..."

Feeling as though Ino's gaze was about to burn a hole through the back of his head, Naruto finally couldn't help but say:

"You don't have to keep staring at me. I actually just happened to know that one flower language; if you ask me about others, I won't be able to answer."

"Oh, oh, sorry, I zoned out for a second." Ino, snapping back to reality, suppressed the growing confusion in her heart and said casually, "That's normal. Your family doesn't run a flower shop, after all."

"Haha, yeah, it's just me at home, so we don't run any kind of shop..."

Crap.

The more Naruto spoke, the weaker his tone became. Halfway through the sentence, he realized he had said the wrong thing. His overly exhausted brain seemed to have lost much of its ability to manage his speech.

The atmosphere on the scene did indeed stagnate for a few moments because of Naruto's words, but unlike what Naruto had expected, this silence didn't last long. Ino handled the atmosphere well:

"How about I let you keep these flowers? You happen to know their language; it's fate."

Ino waved the bouquet in front of Naruto, skillfully avoiding the topic that would surely put him in a difficult position.

"Huh? But I don't have any money," Naruto replied blankly.

"It's free, you idiot!" Ino couldn't help but poke Naruto's head with the flower stems again. "I already told you, Yamanaka Flower Shop doesn't resell returned goods!"

"Oh, oh, sorry, thank you!"

Naruto realized what she meant, then said awkwardly, "But I can't move right now... how about you put them on the ground first? I'll take them home and take good care of them... uh, that sounds a bit weird, doesn't it..."

"Pfft." Ino seemed to be amused by Naruto, her tone becoming much lighter. "That won't do. These flowers are arranged; if you put them on the ground, they'll fall apart."

After saying this, she sat down directly, holding the flowers on her pressed-together knees.

"I'll wait for you to rest up."

"Uh, there's no need for such trouble..."

Naruto, who had never been waited for by anyone, felt somewhat at a loss, but Ino waved a hand, cutting off his refusal:

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'd just be ordered around to do chores if I went back anyway."

Then she immediately started the next topic.

"Right, how did you know the flower language of Nigella?"

"...I just happened to see it when reading a book before."

Seeing that resistance was futile, Naruto could only silently accept it.

Fortunately, the evening breeze was blowing from Ino toward him, so his sweat wouldn't reach her; instead, a faint fragrance kept drifting into his nostrils... It must be the scent of the flowers... Stop, don't think about it anymore.

"You actually read books, Naruto??"

"...That's uncalled for."

"What kind of tone particle is 'ao'?! Hahaha! Hey, do you want to know other flower meanings? I'll teach you."

"...Sure."

The conversation between the boy and the girl pushed the sun to slowly hide behind the horizon. Their shadows gradually lengthened, and in the distance on the skyline, a crescent moon hid behind the clouds, quietly drawing near.

It seemed that even they did not wish to disturb this scene on the ground.