Steam Beneath the Moon

Jiraiya's warning had circled in Ringo's mind all day.

It wasn't balance. It was accepting imbalance. Ice and fire didn't have to be split evenly. He sat on the rooftop, moonlight bleaching the tiles silver-gray. There was no one within fifty meters. Every card slot was open, and steam rose from his right hand, golden in color, its temperature kept thirty percent below normal.

He tried merging the Sound Wave Fragment into it.

Jiraiya's chakra stabilization pouch hung around his neck like a protective charm. But the pouch reduced the risk of failure; it didn't eliminate it. The risk remained. The instant the Sound Wave Fragment entered the steam, the steam changed color. It was no longer gold, but tinged with silvery white. High-temperature ultrasonic waves—their penetrating power doubled.

But so did the consumption.

Ringo's right hand began to tremble. It wasn't muscle fatigue. The speed of his chakra flow had exceeded what his blood vessels could endure. The steam in his palm went out of control, and the silvery-white hot mist exploded with a boom—not outward, but toward himself. His back slammed into the rooftop tiles, breaking two of them. Shards dug in beneath his shoulder blade, making him suck in a sharp breath.

He lay on the rooftop, panting. The Steam Fragment in his card slot was still hot, but his chakra was already drained. He didn't even have the strength to lift a hand.

Moonlight fell over his face. It had no warmth, but it was bright.

"Ringo."

It wasn't an illusion. It was Hinata's voice. It came from the edge of the roof—not from below. She was already on the rooftop. He hadn't noticed how or when she had gotten there at all.

"I was passing by—then I saw the chakra glow—it was beautiful, but too strong—it'll hurt you."

She carried a cloth bundle in her hand. Not a ninja tool pouch, but a lunchbox. The cloth was blue, embroidered with the Hyuga clan crest, though the stitching was crooked. It hadn't been bought. She had sewn it herself.

Ringo sat up. Tile fragments fell from his clothes, clinking twice.

"You—when did you get here?"

"When the steam—exploded." Hinata crouched down and placed the lunchbox beside him. "You need to replenish your strength—when you train. I made rice balls. Not many, just three. One plum, one salmon, one seaweed. I didn't know what flavor you liked."

Her voice grew softer and softer until the last few words were barely a breath. Moonlight shone on her face. Her eyes weren't Byakugan, just ordinary eyes widened slightly by nerves.

Ringo picked up a rice ball. The plum one. He took a bite, and the sour taste spread through his mouth. It wasn't bad. It was just sour enough to wake him up.

"Delicious."

Hinata's ears reddened. Not her face—her ears went red first, then it spread across her cheeks. It was clear beneath the moonlight. Not because of Byakugan vision, but because he was sitting right beside her, less than thirty centimeters away.

"You—made these yourself?"

"Mm. There was no training today. The Hyuga clan had a family meeting. I didn't go. Anyway, they weren't talking about me. They were talking about Hanabi. So I made rice balls in the kitchen. I wanted to bring you some. I didn't make them especially for you. I made a lot. I brought some for everyone. But I came to find you first."

She was worse at lying than she was at taijutsu.

Ringo smiled. Not mockingly. It was the kind of smile that said he knew, but didn't want to expose her.

"Hinata, you know? Every time my system merges something, it asks: Is this formula correct? Are ice and fire right together? Are wind and sound waves right together? Every time, I have to gamble. If I'm right, I get a new card. If I'm wrong, the fragments explode. But—"

He paused. Not intentionally. A fish bone had been caught in the salmon rice ball. He picked it out and tossed it into a crack between the tiles.

"But when I'm with you, there's no need to merge anything. I just know it's right."

Hinata's rice ball fell onto the rooftop. The plum rolled out, bounced once on the tiles, and stopped between them. She didn't pick it up. Not because she didn't want to, but because her hand no longer listened to her.

"I—I feel the same—"

Four words. Coming from her, they were harder than any ninjutsu. Not as hard as forming hand seals. After saying them, she simply didn't know where to look. The moonlight was too bright, the tiles too cold, the rice balls too sour, and Ringo was too close.

He didn't lean toward her. He simply sat there, picked up the fallen rice ball, and blew the dust off it. Not out of disgust. It was instinct. Then he placed it back on the lunchbox lid.

"The plum fell out. This one doesn't count. The ones you made, I'll finish them."

Hinata watched him. Not his face, but his chin. His chin moved as he ate, not by much, but with a steady rhythm. It wasn't handsome. It was real. He wasn't that invisible person from the Ninja Academy. He was Ringo on the rooftop beneath the moonlight, eating the rice balls she had made and blowing tile dust away.

"Ringo—the finals, are you afraid?"

"I am."

"Not afraid of losing. I'm afraid the steam will explode. Explode and hurt me. Not explode and hurt my opponent. I'm afraid—I promised I'd wait for you in the finals arena. If the steam goes out of control, I won't have the right to stand in front of you."

Her hands clenched on her knees. It wasn't the opening stance of Gentle Fist. It was nerves.

"Hinata."

"Mm."

"I promised Jiraiya. It's not balance—it's accepting imbalance. That isn't just for steam. It's for you too. You—you don't have to stand in front of me. And you don't have to stand behind me. Just stand beside me."

Hinata's eyelashes trembled. She wasn't crying. The moonlight had simply struck her lashes at just the right angle, casting a small shadow over her eyelids.

"Beside you—is that okay?"

"Beside me is best. Because if you're beside me, I can touch you whenever I reach out."

He didn't reach out.

But Hinata loosened her hand from her knee and placed it on the tile between them. It wasn't holding hands. She just put it there. Less than ten centimeters from his fingers.

The lunch was finished. Three rice balls—one plum, one salmon, one seaweed. The box was empty. Hinata wrapped it in the blue cloth, packed it away, and stood.

"See you—tomorrow."

She turned around. She didn't run. She walked. Her steps were steady, but her shoulders were drawn tight. After three steps, she reached the edge of the rooftop.

She stopped.

Ringo hadn't called out to her. She had stopped on her own.

"Ringo."

"Mm."

"Right now—is when—I want to see you."

She didn't turn back. But the moonlight clearly illuminated her profile before she did. It wasn't blushing. She had finally said it. Her shoulders relaxed.

Ringo sat on the rooftop and watched her silhouette leap from the edge, disappearing into the streets of Konoha.

He lowered his head and looked at his card slots. The Steam Fragment still glowed. The Sound Wave Fragment still glowed. The Sage Art Fragment still glowed. Neji's Respect Fragment still glowed. But the brightest thing wasn't any fragment.

It was the place in his chest.

Not a card slot. His heart.

"Hinata—I feel the same. Right now is when I want to see you."

He said it so softly that even the moonlight couldn't hear.

Inside the card slots, every fragment still glowed. They weren't preparing to merge. They simply glowed quietly, as if waiting. Waiting for tomorrow, for the day after, for the finals, for everything that was meant to come. But tonight, there was nothing to wait for. Tonight, the rooftop held only moonlight and the taste of rice balls. And the patch of tile where she had stood still retained a trace of her warmth.