Half the Vacation Slipped By

Yun Yan smiled at the concern and care filling Izumi's eyes, his demeanor turning gentle once more.

"Izumi, you don't need to worry.

If you want to survive in this world, it all comes down to your own strength.

As long as you're strong enough, you can make it anywhere."

That was indeed the truth, an indisputable truth at that.

Hearing this, Izumi nodded somewhat helplessly.

"Mm, that's true. With your current strength, Yun Yan, you should be able to protect yourself wherever you go.

But... Yun Yan, don't think I'm nagging. Most of the time, it's better for you to be more cautious and conservative. I don't want anything to happen to you."

To keep Izumi from worrying any further, Yun Yan agreed without hesitation.

"Of course. Don't worry about that. I'm not going to treat my own life like a joke.

Besides, even if it weren't for my own sake, I'd still be careful for yours."

The sudden straightforward remark left Izumi completely stunned.

The girl was rather thin-skinned, after all. She blinked twice, and a blush spread across her face.

"Honestly, Yun Yan, what are you even saying?"

Yun Yan could not help laughing heartily at the sight of bashful Izumi.

It was already not easy for Yun Yan to take the initiative and express his feelings so directly. After teasing Izumi a little, he immediately stopped.

"Alright, alright, Izumi. You know exactly what I mean.

And you know me. I may be laid-back, but I know where to draw the line. Don't worry."

Hearing that, Izumi nodded as well.

That was indeed true. As the person who understood Yun Yan best in the world right now, Izumi knew that although he appeared not to care about anything and acted utterly carefree, he was actually someone with a plan.

So the subject came to an end, and Izumi stopped nagging him about his upcoming assignment to the ANBU.

Seeing the crimson evening glow outside and realizing it was getting late, Izumi suddenly came back to her senses.

"Right, Yun Yan, have you made dinner?"

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Yun Yan instinctively shook his head.

Seeing his reaction, Izumi seemed to make a connection. She narrowed her eyes.

"Yun Yan, if you haven't cooked by this hour, are you planning to have nothing but ochazuke for dinner? Or do you not even have ochazuke?"

Sensing that something was not quite right, Yun Yan sat there and scratched his cheek.

"Well... it's not a big deal if I don't cook. Three meals a day are easy enough to deal with..."

"Easy enough to deal with?"

Izumi's voice abruptly rose, and a dangerous aura emanated from the girl.

Knowing Yun Yan extremely well, Izumi had already made some guesses about how he had been living these past few days, especially when it came to his meals.

She stood up at once and, without another word, turned to pull open the door to the dining room.

Seeing what Izumi was doing, Yun Yan finally realized the source of that faint sense of foreboding. He quickly reached out to stop her.

"Hey, Izumi!"

Unfortunately, he was too late. Izumi had already pulled open the dining room door with a clatter and seen what was inside.

The dining table was covered in empty instant noodle cups, other instant foods similar to noodles, and all sorts of takeout bags and containers.

Yes, that was right. A few restaurants in Konoha offered delivery services, so there was nothing surprising about that.

Looking at the mess covering the table and imagining the terrible slacker lifestyle Yun Yan had been living these past few days, the veins on Izumi's forehead began to throb.

Yun Yan, sitting behind her, felt a little guilty. Faced with this evidence of his crimes—especially since Izumi had caught him red-handed—he could only maintain a stiff smile.

Fortunately, Izumi was a gentle girl, and she did not lose her temper.

Taking a deep breath to suppress her anger at Yun Yan for failing to take care of himself, Izumi immediately found an apron nearby and put on a pair of long rubber gloves, looking ready to clean.

"Yun Yan, I'm cleaning this place up right now!

And I'm handling dinner tonight too, so don't refuse!"

Yun Yan immediately nodded, secretly delighted.

"Having someone make dinner for me would be wonderful. Why would I refuse?

Um... Izumi, I'd like something a little more substantial for dinner. I haven't eaten properly in days."

Pausing her cleaning for the moment, Izumi could not help rolling her eyes at him.

"So you know you haven't eaten properly in days?"

"Uh... I just wanted to save myself the trouble. With you not around, of course I kept everything simple."

It seemed Yun Yan had flirted with her again, just a little. Izumi's face reddened, and after giving a soft huff, she continued cleaning.

Izumi was clearly used to doing housework. She dealt with the dining room mess in no time, quickly wiped the table clean, and soon had the floor neat as well. In short, everything became spotless again.

Looking at the transformed dining room before her, Izumi nodded in satisfaction once she was done.

Then Izumi opened another door and entered Yun Yan's kitchen.

Since Yun Yan had not cooked at all these past few days, the kitchen was unusually clean and tidy.

After turning on the light and looking around, Izumi found there was nothing to clean up. She nodded with some satisfaction.

She took off her gloves and opened the refrigerator, only to find that there were still plenty of ingredients inside. So she rolled up her sleeves, kept her apron on, and tied up her long, silky black hair.

Once she had finished preparing, Izumi immediately began washing vegetables and making dinner.

Watching her cook from behind, Yun Yan suddenly realized that Izumi, a girl only fourteen or fifteen years old, had an unexpectedly homely, wifely air about her.

Hiss... that feeling was rather heart-fluttering too.

That feeling—especially the sight of a girl who liked him cooking for him—was something Yun Yan greatly enjoyed.

So Yun Yan said nothing more. He turned on the lights in his home, opened the scroll he often read, and quietly began reading under the lamp.

It was necessary to keep studying and researching while Izumi cooked, continuing to increase his strength.

After all, only by becoming strong enough could he protect the people important to him.

And so, Yun Yan's peaceful vacation continued.

As for the sudden addition of a girl by his side, Yun Yan felt that Izumi not only did not disturb his vacation, but instead devoted herself to taking care of his daily life, making his vacation even more comfortable.

At the very least, Yun Yan was quite satisfied and content.

Yes, Izumi did not only make dinner for him that night. From the day she returned onward, she made all three of his daily meals every day.

Izumi was exceedingly thoughtful.

She did not merely cook for Yun Yan either. Whenever she was not working and had free time, Izumi would return and come to Yun Yan's home.

Even if they did nothing else, even if they merely chatted, even if she simply stayed by Yun Yan's side, Izumi felt deeply content and happy.

If Izumi had not had a home of her own, then after spending this time together, she likely would have simply moved in with Yun Yan.

Thinking about it carefully, she came over every day to cook, had a key to the place, and came to keep Yun Yan company whenever she had time. There was not much difference between that and living here.

Through this kind of companionship, Yun Yan and Izumi's relationship steadily progressed as well.

Both of them could sense those feelings, and their attitudes toward their relationship were very similar: let nature take its course.

What a wonderful phrase, let nature take its course. Yun Yan liked this feeling of things naturally falling into place. There was no need to force things forward; they only needed to proceed slowly, without being abrupt or intense.

Time passed like this. Another week of Yun Yan's vacation went by, and because Izumi had been with him that entire week, Yun Yan felt very fulfilled.

Before he knew it, half of Yun Yan's month-long vacation had already passed.

This day was precisely the day that marked the halfway point of Yun Yan's vacation.

As an ordinary day in the middle of his vacation, today seemed no different from usual. Yun Yan was loafing around at home as always.

Ah, by loafing around, he meant resting when there was nothing to do, and training or researching when there was. His life was still quite full.

After all, being a slacker did not mean completely wasting away. It referred to a calm and comfortable state of mind, an attitude toward life.

That was Yun Yan's current state.

He wore a loose yukata as though it were a bathrobe and sat cross-legged beneath the eaves of his home, facing the gentle and elegant scenery of the courtyard as he quietly read the scroll of ninjutsu materials in his hands.

Whether it was the same scroll he had always been reading was unclear, but Yun Yan was certainly studying it seriously.

He was not only conducting theoretical research. Whenever the mood struck him, he would also try some practical applications himself.

And now, Yun Yan planned to conduct an experiment right in his own courtyard.