Danzō Again

Josuke really liked a line from a great poet.

I searched for her in the crowd a thousand times. Then I turned around, and there she was, in the dim glow of the lanterns.

He had thought it was merely the fancy of some great poet, never imagining that here and now, at this very moment—

Josuke felt the very same thing.

She sat outside the courtyard, dressed in a kimono and surrounded by flowers like a fairy among blossoms. In her hands was a flower crown that was nearly complete.

"Ino."

Josuke called out.

Outside the courtyard.

Ino froze.

She turned around in disbelief.

It was him.

Her eyes were full of shock and surprise. That was right—it really was him.

"Josuke."

Ino hurriedly rose to her feet and returned from the flowerbed to the house, her wooden clogs thudding against the floorboards.

Closer, and closer still.

Ino threw herself into that warm embrace.

She clung tightly to his back, afraid that the next second, he would vanish and leave her behind.

Only after feeling that everything was real did Ino finally relax a little.

Josuke said nothing. He simply quietly embraced the girl he wanted to protect.

Somehow, at some point, that place in his heart had become completely filled by the girl, leaving no room for anything else.

Though inescapable fate had shrouded Josuke and his brother,

Josuke was fortunate to have her companionship, her concern, and her encouragement.

The three years he spent training with Jiraiya had been the three years Josuke missed her most. Sometimes, he even wondered whether what he was doing was really right.

Then came the time after he defected.

The girl had remained as unreserved as ever toward him, believing in him without the slightest doubt.

"Ino~"

Josuke gently ran one hand through Ino's beautiful hair. It was so soft and smooth, and Ino seemed to enjoy it when he did this.

(I should mention that Josuke and Ino had never confessed to each other. Their relationship was pretty strange right now.)

Ino's face was filled with happiness.

Josuke was really so gentle. Ino felt like she was the happiest woman in the world.

She relaxed and gently closed her eyes, enjoying Josuke's caress.

"What is it~⁄(⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄"

Josuke closed his eyes and lightly rested his head beside Ino's ear.

"I missed you~"

Thank you, Ino. It wasn't that I met you at the best time of my life. It was because of you that I had the best time of my life.

Josuke only said those words silently in his heart.

"Me too."

The two of them nestled together like that until...

Grrr.

Josuke's stomach was growling.

QAQ

How embarrassing.

Ino burst out laughing.

"You're hungry, aren't you~"

She patted Josuke's little head.

"I'm hungry too, actually. How about I make you something to eat?"

That seemed right. It was already noon; of course he would be hungry.

But come to think of it, he seemed to have forgotten something.

Think.

Right, he remembered now.

"Ino, by the way... what happened to my room?"

Whoosh!

Ino's face instantly turned red.

She did not dare look at Josuke.

"Um, Josuke, I'll go make lunch first~"

Ino avoided the question and prepared to slip into the kitchen.

Please provide the text you would like me to translate or revise. I am ready to process it according to your instructions.

There was definitely something going on. Josuke directly stopped Ino.

"Tell me. If you don't tell me today, I'm not letting you go in."

Josuke wrapped an arm around Ino's slender waist.

"Nope, nope."

Ino made a poking gesture, looking adorably fierce.

Not telling him?

Looks like he had to enforce some family rules. Otherwise, who knew who would be the boss of this household in the future?

"Are you gonna tell me or not~"

As he spoke, he wrapped both arms around Ino's waist, pressed his chin against her back, and began drawing circles on her back with his chin.

(Interested readers can try it. It works like a charm.)

What?

"Hahaha..."

"No... you... let me go~..."

At first, Ino only found it comfortable, but as Josuke gradually stepped things up, it started to tickle, even more stimulating than being tickled.

"I won't. Are you gonna tell me or not~"

Hmph, you little thing.

"Okay~ Okay~ I'll tell you..."

Ino could not take it anymore. If this continued, Josuke was going to tickle her to death.

Only after hearing Ino's answer did Josuke let her go.

Ino was now utterly limp, collapsed in Josuke's arms like a puddle of liquid. Whatever Ino felt, Josuke was having a great time.

"You're awful~"

Ino lightly punched Josuke's chest with her little fists. What was he supposed to do when that only made him more excited?

"Actually... it's just..."

"What is it?"

"I bought the Uchiha Compound."

At that moment, Josuke felt as if he had been struck by five bolts of lightning.

"That... can't be possible, right?"

Seeing Josuke's incredulous expression, Ino remembered that she had felt exactly the same way at the time.

"At first, I couldn't believe it either. But guess who was in charge of it?"

A bad premonition rose in Josuke's heart.

"Who was it?"

"It was Danzō."

Aminos, Danzō, fuck your ancestors.

But now that the house was in Ino's hands, there had to be some twist to this, because Josuke remembered that the Uchiha Compound seemed to be gone later on.

"Danzō gathered the major clans of the Hidden Leaf Village to discuss auctioning off the Uchiha Compound. In truth, no one wanted to take on that hot potato."

"After all, the Uchiha had produced two S-rank rogue ninja. Who knew what would happen next?"

After saying that, Ino glanced at Josuke. Rogue ninja really were so handsome—what was she supposed to do?

Josuke nodded. If it had been the rookie ninja he knew from the Hidden Leaf Village buying it, he might not have been so angry. At most, he would have discussed it with them and seen whether he could buy it back. But Ino had gotten it~ Didn't that make it his?

As for anyone else, Josuke might have directly brought out a Gundam and blasted them to death.

"And then?"

"And then, I bought it at a very low price. I couldn't exactly let your home fall into someone else's hands, could I~"

You really are a nice person.

After listening to Ino's explanation, Josuke roughly understood what had happened. He did not blame Ino. On the contrary, he should be thanking her for keeping his home from falling into the hands of thieves.

But none of that seemed to be the important part.

"Then what's with the flowers at our place?"

Our place??

It sounded kind of off, but he could not quite say what was off about it.

"You mean those flowers?"

Ino tidied up her appearance.

"I planted those flowers. What do you think? Are they pretty?"

Josuke nodded. He really had been stunned when he first saw them. He was grateful to Ino.

She had completely changed the desolate atmosphere inside the Uchiha Compound.

"Those flowers are sold at my family's flower shop. I saw there was so much empty space here, so I planted flowers all over it. Sorry, I made the decision on my own..."

"It's fine. I like them."

But none of that was the point.

(￣_,￣ )

"So, Ino... can you tell me what happened to my room now?"

Well, there was no escaping it in the end.