Prodigal Son

"Anko Mitarashi?!"

Yuehua Ai blinked, his heart filled with suspicion, which compelled him to study the girl before him once more.

Anko was about his age, perhaps a centimeter or two shorter. Her bright, clear eyes set in a delicate, oval face made her look all the more spirited, and the light dancing in the depths of her light-brown pupils gave her a clever, lively air. Though her hair was black, it lacked the pure, deep intensity of his own; it was a lighter shade, reminiscent of the unique color of the sky at the intersection of dawn and dusk. Her hair reached near her shoulders, with bangs parted to reveal her entire face, while the back was tied in a peacock-tail style, lending a touch of flamboyance to her otherwise quiet demeanor.

At this moment, Anko lacked the sinister edge she would possess in the future. Since they had met, her joys and angers had been perfectly transparent, devoid of the eerie, unpredictable nature she displayed in the anime.

It was hard to imagine that the neurotic Anko Mitarashi of the future had been such an adorable little girl back then!

The transition from 2D to 3D was truly magical! Yuehua Ai pinched his chin and sighed softly.

"...Why... why are you making that face?"

Seeing the strange expression on Yuehua Ai's face, Anko asked, feeling puzzled.

Even though her parents had given her a name based on food on a whim, there was... nothing strange about that, was there!

Seeing the way the boy's expression kept shifting after hearing her name, Anko felt even more confused.

This guy wasn't just a bad person; he was a weirdo! Anko silently added another title to Yuehua Ai's head.

"Oh, it's nothing, just thinking about something else."

Yuehua Ai chuckled dismissively.

"Thinking about something else?! Hmph, what a hateful guy."

After exchanging names, she had intended to converse further, but the moment Yuehua Ai mentioned thinking of something else, Anko lost all interest in getting to know him better! With that, she turned to leave once more.

After all, their meeting was purely coincidental. Any talk of shared interests or meeting too late was nonsense. Whether it was a misunderstanding or a prank, now that things were cleared up, there was nothing left to discuss.

"Hey, Anko, wait a second!"

Seeing her turn away, Yuehua Ai called out to her again.

"What do you want now!" Anko retorted, looking annoyed as she turned back.

"..." Yuehua Ai felt a bit sheepish.

Seeing her reaction, Yuehua Ai assumed he had left a terrible impression, unaware that it was his dismissive comment that had killed her interest in the conversation!

Heaven help him, as someone who had been a standard bachelor his entire previous life, how could he possibly understand a woman's true thoughts? Even now, he remained clueless about where he had gone wrong.

He reached out and handed her the bag containing the dango. "This is for you, as an apology."

"No!"

Anko stepped back, looking at the bag in his hand as if it were a venomous snake.

Seeing her reaction, Yuehua Ai felt a wave of self-reproach. The thought that a grown man like him had done such a thing to a little girl made him feel secretly ashamed; if Jiraiya or Yahiko found out, he couldn't imagine how they would mock him.

"I bought this for you in the first place. Teasing you earlier was just a whim. If you're willing to forgive me, please, take it!"

Yuehua Ai wore a look of sincere earnestness.

Anko pouted. "Still don't want it!"

"Sigh, I suppose there's no helping it..."

He sighed dramatically, then reached into the bag and pulled out the skewer of dango that Anko had taken a bite of. He waved it in front of her, then made a show of moving to bite into the half-eaten dumpling.

"Hey, stop, stop, stop! That's the one I bit, how could you..."

Even though she knew he was doing it on purpose, seeing the dumpling with her own bite mark on it made her feel unbearably shy.

"So, do you want it or not?"

Yuehua Ai's sincerity had vanished, replaced by a playful, teasing smile.

"I want it, I want it! I'll take it, okay!"

Jerk, villain, thick-skinned, shameless!

Anko puffed out her cheeks, cursing him in her heart while walking toward him one step at a time. She took the skewer and the bag from his hand and tucked the dango back inside. Seeing that he didn't try to tease her again, she breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Alright then, see you!"

Yuehua Ai waved at her with a smile.

"See you..."

Anko offered a stiff smile in return, but the moment she turned away, her face fell. She silently added to herself, See you, see you, better never see you again!

Watching her leave, Yuehua Ai felt no lingering attachment. After buying a few more skewers from the Dango Shop, he headed toward the residence he shared with Jiraiya.

After all this time, the things he had ordered should have arrived by now!

Yuehua Ai bit into a dumpling, chewing as he calculated in his mind.

Swish! He accurately tossed the bamboo skewer into a trash can across the street. Smacking his lips to savor the aftertaste, he felt the dango was indeed quite good and well worth eating again.

When Yuehua Ai returned to his residence, he found that most of his purchases had already been delivered downstairs. By the time he had exerted the effort to move everything up, the remaining items arrived one after another.

Some of the delivery staff were quite helpful; they not only assisted in organizing the items but also helped him tidy up the room.

By noon, Yuehua Ai had not only finished purchasing all his daily necessities but had also replaced several major pieces of furniture. He had swapped out the wardrobe, the dining table, and even the tatami mats in both the bedroom and the living room for brand-new ones.

Looking at the brand-new house, Yuehua Ai nodded in satisfaction; it was certainly much better than it had been before.

Not long after the renovation workers finished fixing the door locks and walls, Jiraiya returned.

Jiraiya was already quite surprised when he saw the repaired door and wall from outside. After all, it wasn't something just anyone could do, let alone an eight-year-old child finding workers to handle the repairs. But when he pushed the door open and stepped inside, the furniture and decor, which were completely different from when he had left, left him feeling rather dazed.

"Master Jiraiya, what do you think?"

As soon as Jiraiya entered, Yuehua Ai pointed around the room to ask for his opinion.

"Uh—it's great, really great, but..."

Jiraiya looked around the living room again. Good grief, not only had the walls been refurbished, but most of the furniture had been replaced as well.

It certainly looked nice, but when a certain thought crossed his mind, Jiraiya suddenly felt a toothache. He asked uncertainly:

"Ai, how much money do we have left after all this renovation?"

"We...?!"

Hearing those two words in Jiraiya's sentence, Yuehua Ai suddenly had a bad premonition!

"It's all gone..." He spread his hands helplessly, ultimately deciding to tell the truth.

"Gone? All 20,000 ryo are gone?"

The corners of Jiraiya's mouth twitched uncontrollably.

"Uh... not entirely gone, there should be two or three hundred ryo left..."

Yuehua Ai said, bracing himself.

"Two or three hundred?!" As if his spirit had been instantly drained, Jiraiya sat down on the brand-new tatami mats, feeling like crying but having no tears.

"Master Jiraiya, this wasn't all of your savings, was it?"

Seeing Jiraiya's devastated expression, Yuehua Ai asked in disbelief.

Giving his disciple a fierce glare, Jiraiya said with a tone full of resentment:

"That's right!"

"How is that possible? You're one of the Sannin, how could you only have this much in savings?"

"What do you mean 'only this much'?" Jiraiya retorted indignantly.

"The title of Sannin represents strength, not wealth. If I want to make money, I have to take on missions! Think about these past three years; to take care of you, I haven't accepted a single mission. Three years of living off my savings, plus a spendthrift like you, and we can basically declare that we're out of food now~~~"

"Uh..."

Yuehua Ai couldn't help but feel ashamed. To be honest, he really hadn't considered that. In his past life, he spent his days fighting against fate and rarely cared about things outside of his research. As for money, he had always spent it as soon as he got it; financial management was a joke to him. Besides, he remembered a skit from his past life that perfectly matched his philosophy: what is the most painful thing in life? It's dying with money still left in the bank!

"Alright, you don't need to blame yourself. This is also my fault for not making things clear to you beforehand." Jiraiya shook his head and sighed.

Jiraiya was actually quite indifferent toward money. If it weren't for the fact that some of his hobbies required it, he wouldn't care about it at all. After all, as a responsible master, Jiraiya decisively chose his disciple over his hobbies. To keep Yuehua Ai from feeling guilty, he was the first to offer comfort.

"..."

Yuehua Ai really didn't know what to say. This time, he was genuinely feeling guilty. He didn't mind being extravagant, but that was under the premise that the money was actually his own...

It seems that while attending classes at the Medical Corps, I'll have to find a way to take on some part-time work! This thought couldn't help but rise in Yuehua Ai's mind.

"Alright, don't overthink it. Here, take this."

Seeing Yuehua Ai with his head bowed in thought, Jiraiya assumed he was reflecting and feeling guilty. He patted his shoulder and handed him a brown paper envelope.

"What is this?" Yuehua Ai asked as he tore it open.

"This is the identification I got for you, and inside is the application for your advanced studies at the Medical Corps."

"You can report to the training class tomorrow. As for the library Tsunade suggested you visit, I'll give you the location, and you can use your ID to get a library card there."

"Thank you, Master Jiraiya!"

Thinking about how Jiraiya had been running around all afternoon for his sake, Yuehua Ai was moved once again. Honestly, all the moments of being moved in his past life combined didn't compare to what Jiraiya had brought him over these past three years.

"What are you thanking me for? Just don't be such a spendthrift in the future!"

Patting Yuehua Ai's shoulder again, Jiraiya joked.

Changing the subject, Jiraiya continued: "By the way, I have an important mission tomorrow and might have to leave Konoha. While I'm away, listen to Tsunade. She will take care of you."

"So soon!?" Yuehua Ai frowned slightly. Jiraiya had only been back in the village for a day, and he was already being sent out?

"Haha, this has nothing to do with how fast it is. It's just that we returned at a convenient time, and I happened to catch an urgent mission."

Jiraiya waved his hand with a smile.

"I see..."

Yuehua Ai responded and said nothing more. Decisions made by the village were not things he could touch, and he had no right to ask about the specifics of the mission Jiraiya had received. Whether for Jiraiya's sake or his own, he shouldn't concern himself too much with the village's affairs. Keeping a low profile in both words and actions was the survival rule he had to follow in Konoha.