Nagato wasted no time and arrived at the agreed-upon restaurant at the appointed hour.
"Here to eat, or got a reservation?" the owner asked casually, a cigarette dangling from his mouth and a thick arm covered in tattoos left bare.
"A reservation. Noon, under Mei Terumi." Looking at the owner's muscular, heavily tattooed arm, Nagato swallowed nervously. Was this really Kirigakure's local culture??
"Mountain Tiger private room."
"???"
Nagato finally settled into the private room, and his heart finally stopped pounding. But the thought of meeting that client any moment sent his nerves right back into overdrive.
Thinking it over, Mei Terumi didn't sound like someone from the Yuki Clan. Surely she couldn't be lying to him about that? Nagato himself didn't know what he was afraid of. Well, perhaps he really was afraid she was deceiving him.
Nagato had already imagined that the person about to burst into the room might even be that Yuki from the incident years ago. All these years, she... he had never forgotten Nagato, secretly watching him, lusting after him...
At that thought, Nagato hastily shook his head. Too terrifying. Too twisted. He didn't dare imagine how thoroughly he would lose his mind if that really happened.
Just then, Nagato, whose nerves were already on edge, heard footsteps in the hallway outside the private room. As those footsteps drew closer and clearer, his heart beat faster and faster.
Bang!
With a bang, the door to the private room swung open, and Nagato's heart stopped for a second.
"Hello, are you Nagato Uzumaki?" As the door opened, a girl who looked eleven or twelve appeared, wearing a short blue dress. Her long hair reached her waist, and her parted bangs covered one eye. Her other eye lit up when she saw Nagato Uzumaki.
A