The morning sunlight streamed through the window, spilling warmly into Naruto's newly refreshed little apartment.
Naruto had just finished breakfast when the doorbell rang with a cheerful ding-dong.
"Coming, coming!"
Naruto mumbled his reply and shuffled over to open the door in his slippers.
"What do you mean, Kakashi took Sasuke off to train, and it's just the two of us on this mission?"
With only two of them going, they would only have to split the mission pay two ways, but Naruto really couldn't care less about that little bit of money. His shadow clones had recently finished writing volume seven of The Lustful Ninja Chronicles of Shimura, along with a side-story volume, and were ready to rake in the big bucks.
But what were Kakashi and Sasuke playing at? The Chunin Ninja Exams were almost here, and now they were sneaking off for private lessons?
Naruto stared blankly at Sakura standing in his doorway.
Just then, a calm, gentle voice came from the dining table behind him. "Heading out on a mission? Go on ahead, Naruto. I'll wash the dishes before I leave for work."
Inoichi Yamanaka sat elegantly at the dining table, a steaming cup of tea and an empty plate in front of him. He had clearly just finished breakfast.
He leisurely wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin, looking entirely at ease, as though this were his own home.
Inoichi Yamanaka picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth.
"Huh? What's Ino's dad doing at Naruto's place?"
Only then did Sakura notice Inoichi beside the dining table.
Faced with Sakura's astonishment, Inoichi Yamanaka merely chuckled, perfectly composed. "Oh, Sakura. Morning.
It's nothing serious. A few things came up, so I'm imposing on Naruto for a few days."
He casually explained their living arrangement,