Any Kind of Jade Will Only Harm You

This was how Yun Yan awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan—his cheat from not long after he had first crossed over.

In a sense, Izumi Uchiha's appearance had helped awaken Yun Yan's Mangekyō Sharingan.

On top of that, having such a considerate, beautiful girl by his side—this little beauty often quietly kept him company. It could be said that Izumi had greatly eased the anxiety in Yun Yan's heart after he had just crossed over.

From then until now, Izumi and Yun Yan had always been especially close, the best of friends. Izumi's feelings for Yun Yan had even gradually surpassed the bounds of ordinary friendship.

Even though Yun Yan had spent the past few years away and they had not seen each other for years, able to communicate only through letters, their feelings had not faded.

Now that Yun Yan opened the door, he saw Izumi as expected, along with the excited look on her face.

Yun Yan immediately knew that Izumi's feelings for him had not faded in the slightest. If anything, her longing had only deepened them.

Standing in the doorway, Yun Yan looked at the increasingly excited Izumi with a hint of helplessness and smiled gently.

"Yo, Izumi. I knew it was you. After all, no one but you would knock on my door.

"So... long time no see?"

Seeing Yun Yan's face, more mature than when they had last met years ago, Izumi's beautiful eyes reddened slightly.

She nodded, still unable to contain her excitement. Her voice was even a little choked with emotion.

"Mm, Yun Yan. Long time no see."

After they had finally exchanged greetings, Izumi could no longer hold herself back.

After hesitating for a moment, Izumi finally decided to follow the impulse in her heart. Pressing her lips together, she stepped forward and hugged him.

A fragrant breeze swept over him as Izumi threw herself into Yun Yan's arms.

Feeling her soft, warm body against him, Yun Yan still looked somewhat helpless.

Yet beneath that helplessness was a trace of enjoyment. After all, a beautiful girl had taken the initiative to hug him. No matter how he looked at it, he was the one getting the better deal.

Since Izumi Uchiha had so directly expressed her feelings, Yun Yan could not very well stand there stiffly. He could only lightly wrap his arms around her in response.

In fact, Yun Yan's reaction alone revealed his attitude toward this relationship.

When a girl took the initiative to throw herself at him, Yun Yan had only one attitude: he would neither pursue nor refuse her.

That attitude sounded a little scummy, but that was simply how Yun Yan was. He had never actively yearned for a relationship, but since romance had come knocking on his door, he would not reject it either.

Just like now, Yun Yan lightly held Izumi and softly comforted her.

As for Izumi? She was not the clingy type. Once the emotions of their long-awaited reunion had eased, and after she had finally hugged him enough, she reluctantly stepped out of Yun Yan's embrace.

After leaving his arms, Izumi wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and gave Yun Yan her usual gentle yet strong smile.

"Sorry, Yun Yan. I got too excited. It's been so long since I last saw you."

Yun Yan smiled gently as well.

"It's alright. It really has been a long time.

"For the past few years, we could only communicate through letters. It must have been hard on you.

"Izumi, let's not keep standing at the door. Shall we go inside?"

Izumi broke into a wide smile and nodded vigorously.

And so, Izumi stepped through Yun Yan's front door. Once they were both inside, Yun Yan casually closed it again.

They walked side by side, close together, entering the courtyard and heading toward Yun Yan's house.

During that short walk, Yun Yan could not help pointing at his courtyard and house as he asked:

"By the way, Izumi.

"I haven't been home these past few years, yet my courtyard has stayed neat and my room has stayed clean. You were the one who kept them tidy, weren't you? I remember giving you a key to my house before I left."

Izumi nodded slightly.

"That's right. Whenever I had time, I came over to clean and tidy things up. I couldn't just let your home fall into disrepair.

"Oh, right!"

At that, Izumi slapped her forehead and took out a ring of keys from her pocket.

"Yun Yan, here's your house key. I'm returning it to you."

Looking at one of the spare keys to his home that he had given Izumi, Yun Yan did not take it.

"Izumi, keep my house key."

That answer caught Izumi off guard.

"Huh?"

"I said, just keep my house key."

This time, Izumi heard him perfectly clearly. Being clever, she immediately understood what he meant, but she was still a little shy and incredulous.

"Th-This... is that really alright?"

Yun Yan leisurely walked into his house, his expression and tone utterly calm.

"What's wrong with that?

"Izumi, you know me. The moment I stay home, I turn into a salted fish. I just coast through life and can't even be bothered to do housework.

"So I'll have to trouble you to come by and clean up whenever you have time in the future."

Hearing that, Izumi blinked in disbelief.

"Yun Yan, the reason you want me to keep your house key... is just so it'll be easier for me to keep cleaning for you!?"

After taking off his shoes and walking into his room, Yun Yan could not help looking back at Izumi. His expression was so calm, so frank, so utterly matter-of-fact.

"Yeah. What else would it be?"

Izumi, still standing outside the room without even having time to take off her shoes, puffed up her cheeks and glared at him.

Seeing Izumi like that, Yun Yan finally could not hold back his laughter and stopped teasing her.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. That's not it. I'm giving you the key simply so it'll be more convenient for you to come and go from my house in the future. You can come over whenever you want."

That finally made Izumi happy. Her puffed cheeks deflated, and she nodded in satisfaction.

Seeing that one more step would take her onto the tatami mats of the room, Izumi hesitated slightly. Then, without worrying about anything else, she kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot inside.

Given her relationship with Yun Yan, there was no need for her to stand on ceremony or say she was intruding. She could simply walk in.

Sure enough, Yun Yan did not mind at all that a girl like Izumi had suddenly entered his private space. If anything, he rather enjoyed it.

It was just that... there was another annoying fellow he needed to deal with first.

While Izumi was not paying attention, Yun Yan stood in his room and gave the rooftop across from him an internationally friendly gesture.

When the hidden Kakashi on the opposite rooftop saw Yun Yan make that gesture again, he knew Yun Yan was telling him to leave.

Although today's routine duty had not even lasted half an hour, Yun Yan was already chasing him away. Kakashi knew he could not keep playing third wheel, so he wisely vanished.

Kakashi's tactfulness left Yun Yan rather satisfied.

He nodded and withdrew his internationally friendly gesture.

When he turned back around, Izumi was already comfortably seated on a cushion beside the table. She lightly swayed her head, enjoying the atmosphere here and the feeling of being with Yun Yan.

Incidentally, Izumi was not sitting in a proper, formal kneeling posture. Instead, she had stretched out her legs and sat casually and comfortably.

That posture alone showed how completely unguarded Izumi was around Yun Yan. It also showed that even after all these years, Izumi's feelings for him truly had not faded.

Another thing worth mentioning was that Izumi's sitting posture showed off her legs.

Perhaps because she exercised just the right amount, her legs were slender and well-proportioned, flawless in both shape and appearance.

Yun Yan's gaze slowly traveled down Izumi's legs, passing over her knees and calves before finally settling on Izumi's... feet.

Although jade of any kind would only harm you, this jade truly was something special.

Yun Yan could only describe Izumi's little feet as fair and delicate. Not only were they captivating, but Izumi was lightly swinging them in her good mood, stirring something in Yun Yan's heart even more.

Perhaps Yun Yan's gaze was too direct, or perhaps he had been silent for a while. Sensing the silence, Izumi looked up in confusion.

The moment she looked up, Izumi saw that Yun Yan was staring at her feet!

Her face reddened slightly, and her ten toes curled a little. The girl could not help feeling shy and uncomfortable.

Yun Yan also realized he had been caught. He coughed twice awkwardly, then sat cross-legged in front of Izumi as though nothing had happened and began chatting with her as usual.

Of course, it was a clumsy attempt to change the subject.

"Ahem, Izumi, where have you been lately?

"Ever since I came home and saw how neat and clean my courtyard and room were, I knew you must have been coming by my house from time to time.

"But I've already been home on leave for a week, and there was no sign of you during that time. You only rushed over today, so I guessed you probably hadn't been in the clan recently."

At that, Izumi nodded.

"You guessed right, Yun Yan. I really haven't been in the clan lately, nor have I been in the village.

"After all, I graduated successfully, and I was promoted to chūnin not long ago. During this time, I left Konoha with the other shinobi to carry out missions outside the village."