Don't Come Anymore

After the lightning in Kakashi's palm faded, a faint scorched smell still lingered in the training ground. Sasuke stared at his right hand for a long time without looking away.

"This technique is called Chidori." Kakashi lowered his hand. "It's fast enough and powerful enough. If it hits a vital point, one strike can end a fight."

Sasuke looked up at him.

"Teach me."

Kakashi looked at the Cursed Seal on his neck and smiled with narrowed eyes. "Suppress that first. Right now, you might not even be able to control your own body."

Sasuke frowned but did not argue. He merely pulled his collar higher.

Meanwhile, by the time Ino returned home, it was already dark.

She carried an empty lunchbox in her hand and glanced down at it before entering. There was a bit of water she had not wiped clean from the edge, so she rubbed it with her sleeve. Afterward, she felt a little foolish, and her ears instantly turned red.

"You're back?"

Inoichi Yamanaka's voice came from the living room.

Ino paused and hid the lunchbox behind her back.

"Yeah."

Inoichi sat at the table with an intelligence scroll in front of him. He did not look at her immediately. He simply rolled up the scroll slowly and set it aside.

"You've been getting rather close to that Uchiha lately."

Ino pretended not to understand.

"Which one?"

Inoichi raised his eyes to look at her.

Ino pressed her lips together.

"He's just a classmate."

"Stay away from him from now on."

The moment those words fell, the faint blush on Ino's face vanished.

"Why?"

Inoichi frowned.

"Isn't the Uchiha Clan's situation already messy enough? Do you know how many people are watching that boy now? If you involve yourself, one day you might get dragged in and die without even knowing how."

Ino clenched the lunchbox handle.

"I'm already grown up."

Smack!

Inoichi slammed his palm onto the table, making the cups on it tremble.

"This has nothing to do with whether you're grown up or not!"

Ino stood motionless in the entryway, her eyes slowly reddening. She did not want to cry, but the more she held it in, the worse she felt. In the end, she silently lowered her head and changed her shoes.

Then she clutched the lunchbox and ran upstairs, slamming her bedroom door shut.

Inoichi stared toward the upper floor for a long time before finally sighing.

The Uchiha Clan's affairs were far too complicated. Who knew how many people inside and outside the village were watching him? Even the Hokage could not handle it, so how could he, Inoichi, a member of the Intelligence Division, manage it? No, he had to keep his daughter away from him. She absolutely could not get involved with him!

Early the next morning, Ino left the house bright and early.

She stood in front of the mirror for a long time, tying and untying her hair over and over. In the end, she switched to a light purple hair tie, but just as she was about to leave, she felt it was too obvious. Annoyed, she tore it off and changed back to her usual one.

When she reached the hospital entrance, she stopped again.

The lunchbox in her hand was still a little warm.

She looked down at it and muttered softly, "I'm just passing by."

When Ino pushed the door open, Chiya was sitting by the window.

The afternoon sunlight slanted in through the window, falling over his profile and shoulders, softening his originally indifferent features. The boy gazed quietly outside, black hair hanging over his forehead, his lashes casting a faint shadow beneath his eyes.

Ino's steps faltered, and her heart suddenly beat a little faster.

Ino placed the lunchbox on the table, deliberately making a loud sound.

Only then did Chiya come back to himself and turn toward Ino.

Ino lowered her head, not daring to meet his eyes.

"My mom made too much."

"Mm."

"That's all you have to say?"

Chiya opened the lunchbox and paused when he saw the food inside.

The dishes were arranged neatly, and it was obvious that whoever had prepared this lunchbox had put a great deal of care into it.

Ino stood beside him, pretending to look at the vase on the windowsill, though her eyes kept sneaking glances his way. Only after she saw him start eating did she quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

Chiya ate very slowly.

He did not really have much of an appetite.

The final matches were approaching.

He knew what would happen that day. Sand Village and Sound Village would make their move, Orochimaru would reveal his true face, and the Third Hokage would die inside the Four Violet Flames Battle Encampment. Originally, he only needed to follow the original plot and avoid the most dangerous places as much as possible.

But things were different now.

Danzo would definitely act amid the chaos, and there was no telling whether Orochimaru had any other contingencies.

Once Konoha fell into disorder on the day of the final matches, everyone would have their own matters to handle. Most likely, no one would have time to care about him.

He had considered many methods, such as warning the Third Hokage about Orochimaru's plan beforehand or simply skipping the match and running away that day.

But after thinking it through, every path came to a dead end.

He could not explain to the Third Hokage how he knew, nor did he have any evidence to prove it. Running away without competing would only give Danzo an excuse to act against him. As a missing-nin, where could he even escape to then?

Besides, Akatsuki was still out there, and he was far too weak right now.

Seeing him staring blankly again, Ino finally could not hold it in any longer.

"What on earth are you thinking about?"

Chiya came back to himself.

Ino frowned, sat down by the bed, and waved a hand in front of his eyes.

"You keep staring out the window all day. You're so young, why are you acting like an old grandpa?"

Chiya looked at her.

The girl was very close. Golden strands of hair slipped from her shoulders, and she had not even noticed. Sunlight fell across her face, tinting the tips of her ears a little red. Her words were fierce, but the concern in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Chiya's heart suddenly sank.

She could not come anymore.

She could not stay too close to him.

He had too much trouble surrounding him. If she stayed this close, she would be in danger.

Seeing him stare at her without speaking, Ino became a little embarrassed, her face turning red. She pretended to glare at him fiercely.

"What are you looking at?"

Chiya fell silent for a moment.

"Ino."

"What?"

"Don't come anymore."

Ino froze.

Chiya looked away, his voice calm.

"I don't need anyone to take care of me anymore."

The hospital room instantly fell silent.

Ino's fingers were still resting on the lunchbox lid, gradually tightening. As if she had not heard clearly, she said,

"What?"

Chiya turned his head and looked seriously into her eyes.

"I said, don't come anymore."

She blinked, and her eyes immediately reddened. Tears welled up and swirled in her eyes, but she forced herself not to let them fall.

She pretended to pack up the lunchbox, lowering her head as she spoke in a muffled voice.

"You think I wanted to come? I told you already, I was just passing by."

She stood up, hugged the lunchbox to her chest, and quickly turned her head away.

"Jerk."

Ino ran out.

Chiya sat on the bed, listening as her footsteps faded into the distance.

Chiya sighed. The image of her desperately holding back tears still lingered in his mind, and a wave of bitterness rose in his heart.

"I'm sorry..." Chiya said softly.

Over the following days, Ino never came again, and the room suddenly became much quieter. The doctor was quite pleased, saying that he was finally willing to rest properly.

Sakura came by occasionally and told him about Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke acted mysteriously every day, while Naruto followed some strange uncle around all the time.

As Chiya listened to Sakura's chatter, the heaviness in his heart did not lessen at all.

Every day, he took his medicine and changed his bandages as usual. After the doctor left, he would draw the curtains, sit beside the bed, and refine chakra. Sometimes, he would also attempt to fuse chakra, feeling it flow bit by bit through his fingertips as he combined fire and earth into waves of scorching heat in his palm.

The day before the final matches, Chiya was discharged from the hospital.

He did not go home. Instead, he went to Yamanaka Flower Shop first.

Ino was inside arranging flower stems. When she heard the wind chime at the door, she looked up and froze.

Chiya stood at the entrance.

After several days apart, Chiya had recovered almost completely. He still wore that Uchiha outfit, and his face still bore that indifferent expression.

Ino quickly lowered her head and pretended to continue trimming the flowers.

"What flowers would the customer like?"

Chiya walked inside.

"I have something to tell you."

Ino paused, then viciously snipped off a flower stem with the scissors in her hand.

"What? Didn't you say you didn't want to see me?"

"Don't go to tomorrow's match."

The scissors stopped with a sharp click.

Ino raised her head.

"What?"

Chiya looked at her, his tone very serious.

"Don't go to the arena. Stay home and don't go anywhere."

Ino had wanted to argue, but when she saw his solemn face, the words caught in her throat.

She had never seen Chiya like this before.

She gripped the scissors, her fingers turning slightly pale.

"What happened?"

Chiya was silent for a moment. Instead of answering, he raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Be good. Listen to me just this once."

Ino froze, her face flushing all the way to her ears. She was angry and hurt, and she desperately wanted to yell at him.

She also wanted to ask him why he thought he could push her away whenever he wanted, then demand that she obey whenever he wanted.

But those words lodged in her throat, and in the end, she could not say a single one.

After a long time, she lowered her head, her voice very soft.

"Hmph."