"Kushina..."
Wuye held the familiar, intimate body in his arms tightly and murmured, "Back then... I didn't want to break up with you either..."
"I know. It was the Third Hokage, right?"
Kushina leaned against his shoulder.
Her soft red hair brushed past Wuye's nose, making it itch slightly.
"That was Grandma Mito's guess. And after everything that happened later, I did realize that the Third Hokage didn't want us to be together." She pursed her lips. "How annoying... meddling in our private relationship..."
Some lies could deceive someone for a lifetime, sparing the person you loved that discomfort and worry forever. Those were called beautiful lies.
Wuye did not know whether his counted as one. If he left what he had done wrong alone, would it become a thorn that could never be pulled out?
"Kushina, I want to confess something to you..."
Before he had even sorted out his own thoughts, an inner impulse suddenly made him speak, leaving him dazed and confused.
Was this decision right? He did not know...
But often, at the moment we made a decision, we did not know whether it was right or wrong.
"W-what is it?"
Kushina lifted her head from his shoulder. Her voice was hesitant, and she suddenly felt uneasy.
"Actually, back then, I was only going with the flow. The Third Hokage wouldn't allow me to be with you, and I happened not to want to continue either. I..."
Wuye closed his eyes. "I wanted to break up too..."
The lingering smile on Kushina's face slowly collapsed.
"You... you're not joking..."
She gritted her teeth. "You really only like flirting around..."
"No." Wuye hurriedly shook his head. "It wasn't like that. I just came to a crossroads..."
"What was it?"
Kushina looked up at him in confusion.
Wuye